Template on “Election Observation from a Gender Perspective in the Arab Region”
11/15/2021
• The Arab Women Organization (AWO) deemed it crucial to provide election observation teams with the necessary tools. Thus, it adopted a project, in cooperation with Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), to develop a Template comprising all the indicators that observers should consider during the election observation process.
This form aims at providing the technical means to facilitate the tasks of observers, in a way that contributes to preparing sound and thoroughly integrated reports on election monitoring from a gender perspective.
• This Template addresses the most fundamental indicators to facilitate the mission of observers while monitoring elections from a gender lens. Included are indicators on mechanisms and techniques for monitoring elections, the regulatory framework, the electoral systems in Arab countries with a focus on their perspectives and electoral geography, as well as electoral complaints, revisions and appeals.
• This Template is divided into two main sections. The first section deals with long-term observation and includes the information required to be filled out by Long-Term Observers (LTOs) and includes questions examining the experiences of women candidates during elections. The second section addresses short-term observation to be completed by Short-Term Observers (STOs).
• The development of this template was borne from a programme aimed at building the capacity of female election observers in the Arab region. This initiative was undertaken by the Arab Women Organization (AWO), in cooperation with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), and saw the delivery of a first phase of training to a cohort of 33 female election observers.
• AWO is currently launching the second phase of the programme consisting of three successive training sessions and targeting local observers from the national machineries for women as well as media personnel from the Arab Member States.