IRI Helps to Educate Citizens on National Constitutional Referendum, Summer 2006

July 2, 2006

July 2, 2006, Bolivians went to the polls to elect a Constituent Assembly that will draft a new constitution and vote on a referendum for provincial autonomy.

To prepare and educate Bolivian citizens for the assembly election and following referendum, the International Republican Institute (IRI) created a Citizen’s School in six cities. In the cities of Cochabamba, El Alto, La Paz, Santa Cruz, Sucre and Tarija, 30 representatives of civil society organizations worked to instruct citizens on the election process during March and April of 2006.

At the conclusion of the school, the political party and civil society leaders, with the support of IRI, created a Citizen’s Advisory Board to help construct the foundation of IRI’s citizen forums, the next step in the civic education program. The citizen forums are designed to promote discussion among voters to become more informed about the Constituent Assembly and its role. A series of five forums are being held in six cities throughout the summer of 2006, with an estimated 3,000 people being reached.

The forums are complimented by a local radio program, “The Observer” (El Observador). The program airs discussions on the role of the Constituent Assembly designed to reach a large number of Bolivians in rural areas.

Through the civic education program and the radio program, IRI hopes to encourage voter and civic participation in the democratic process as they prepare to vote on the constitutional referendum, and take steps to advance democracy.

###

A nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing democracy worldwide