WPRAG meeting to discuss the regulations of IEC on voter registration

Women’s Political Rights Advocacy Group convened a session on April, 29, 2013 to discuss the regulations of IEC on voter registration and to briefly go over the recommendations drafted by FEFA and WPRAG on strengthening MoWA’s electoral policy. Based on the meeting FEFA had with MoWA earlier in the week, most of the recommendations are accepted by MoWA and the draft is sent to technical department for legal revision. At the next joint meeting (MoWA, FEFA and WPRAG), draft of the policy will be shared and as soon as the policy is approved, the three parties will start formulating an action plan for the implementation of the policy. After having the regulations on voter registration of IEC reviewed, the group suggested the following recommendations: The IEC shall deploy door-to-door campaigners to encourage people in villages and boroughs to participate at the voter registration process. The IEC shall identify CSOs who are willing to cooperate with the Commission at central and provincial levels throughout the electoral process The IEC shall maintain close relationship with government institutions such as: Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior Affairs, Ministry of Pilgrimage and Endowment, Ministry Information and Culture and the Ministry of Education Electoral institutions shall conduct round tables to discuss the significance of women's participations in the elections Local radio stations and T.V channels shall be identified; and the representatives of electoral institutions shall participate in radio and T.V programs to present information on elections and encourage local people to participate in election process. At the end of the session, it was decided to have FEFA share its recommendations for MoI policy concerning elections and its proposed plan for independent media for support of electoral reforms with the group and get their feedback before the next session.