IRI Releases Pre-election Assessment Report

September 3, 2002

IRI, NDI, and IFES released their joint West Bank and Gaza pre-election assessment report in late August. The assessment was done in July at the request of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to gauge the prospects for meaningful elections in the Palestinian Authority.

The purpose of the mission was fourfold: (1) to evaluate the pre-electoral environment and identify the requirements of the Palestinian Authority (PA), political parties, civil society and the international community to establish a meaningful electoral process; (2) to identify elements of the process that are most vulnerable and the obstacles that must be overcome; (3) to assess the state of technical preparations for elections; and (4) to recommend electoral reform measures that could enhance the transparency and credibility of the process.

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