Election Observers Deployed Across Tunisia for Parliamentary Elections
110 Female Election Observers Deployed Across Tunisia
Sabra Bano, Head of the Gender Election Watch Tunisia 2014 mission announced the deployment plan of her mission that will be comprised of 110 all-female international and domestic observers. Addressing a pre-election press conference, together with Deputy Head of Mission, Magda De Meyer, Bano made the statement below.
This mission is undertaken jointly between the Tunisian League of Human Rights (LTDH), the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD), the Association of Tunisian Women for Research and Development (AFTURD) and Gender Concerns International (GCI).
Our partnership is a testament to the national women’s movement in Tunisia; their commitment to the rights of women and inclusive governance is strong. It is an honour for my organisation and myself to be working with them once again.
Gender Election Monitoring (GEM) Mission Progresses
Gender Concerns International’s GEM Missions aim to support women’s participation in democratic processes and promote the vision of a gender-balanced society. Women must be seen as catalysts for change, be able to hold key decision-making positions and enhance their leadership skills.
This monitoring mission is conducted by women for the full benefit of women. In doing so, the mission also engages a greater number of stakeholders beyond women in civil society in order to bring moreholistic and long-term change.
Training sessions have been conducted around the country to build the knowledge and skills of our female Tunisianobservers in the monitoring of elections. It is through our partners’dedication to this action, and the broader push for women’s inclusion in political processes, that will make this mission a success. Moreover, it will contribute to the strengthening of what is already a robust women’s movement in Tunisia.
Capacity building forms a key part of this mission; this partnership between international and national civil society organisations will enhance the future impact of women in Tunisia.
A small percentage of female international experts are working alongside a group of female Tunisian observers carefully selected by our partner organisations. These 10 international observers and 100 domestic observers are being deployed to accurately and efficiently monitor the electoral process across the country.
Our 110 female observers will be deployed across five key regions of Tunisia. Through this network of observers, the mission will cover in excess of 400 polling stations, stretching across all 24 governorates. The scale of this mission will allow my team and myself to evaluate the electoral process from a gender perspective.
The process of formulating and finalising the electoral material has been completed with the technical expertise of our mission’s team. Electoral monitoring forms in both Arabic and French have been prepared and are being distributed across Tunisia.
This mission is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office. It gives me great pleasure that our supporters are able to see the importance of Tunisian women in the future of this country. It is through women’s increased participation in political processes, at all levels, that sustainable and concrete change will occur.
It is with great pleasure that I announce the deployment of our female election observers across Tunisia today. I wish them well in their observation and look forward to receiving their reports promptly after the voting closes on Sunday.
Our first preliminary report will be released on the morning of Tuesday 28 October.
