The director of STEP meets with IHEC and a number of diplomatic missions in Baghdad.
Mr. Sarbast Mustafa participated with representatives of a number of non-governmental organizations in a visit to the Commission and a number of international missions in Baghdad during the days 16th, 17th and 18th of September, where a meeting was held with the Chairman and members of the Board of Commissioners of the Independent High Electoral Commission, in which praised to the process of conducting a lottery to choose the numbers of alliances, political parties, and individual candidates who will participate in the irregular governorate council elections in a region, which will take place on 12/18/2023. The latest preparations were also presented by the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners and the Chief of the Electoral Administration to hold provincial council elections in all governorates, including Kirkuk Governorate, Also, organizations’ delegation stressing the importance of communication between the Commission and civil society organizations for the significant role civil society plays in monitoring the integrity and transparency of the process. Electoral elections, and joint efforts to raise awareness and educate voters.
A meeting was also organized between the delegation and Mr. Brendan Hodson, Charge d'Affaires of the Australian Embassy in Baghdad. They discussed the role of partners in the electoral process in enhancing citizen confidence in issues of democracy and elections, the international community’s support for the democratic and electoral process in Iraq, and the importance of the electoral process being fair and transparent.
The delegation also visited the headquarters of the United Nations Mission in Iraq, and met with a delegation from the UN mission headed by Mr. Claudio Cordone, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance, with representatives from the Political Section, the Human Rights Section, and the Electoral Assistance Section of the UN Mission. There was talk about the role of the United Nations in assisting the Commission in its preparations for holding elections, whether for the provincial councils or for the Kurdistan Parliament. The visiting delegation stressed the need for the United Nations and the international community to support civil society organizations in Iraq due to the importance of their role in monitoring the electoral process and human rights in Iraq.
The delegation of civil society organizations then visited the headquarters of the Romanian Embassy in Baghdad and met with His Excellency the Ambassador, Mr. Radu Octavian Dobre, and the Second Secretary at the Embassy for Political Affairs, where they discussed the role of the international community in helping Iraq to overcome the challenges facing the democratic process in Iraq.
