IRI Announces Delegates for Tunisia’s October 23 Constituent Assembly Elections

Washington, DC − IRI today announced its delegation which will observe Tunisia’s October 23 constituent assembly elections.  Representatives from Egypt, France, Jordan, Poland, Romania, the United States and the West Bank and Gaza will travel to Tunisia to observe voting and ballot counting throughout the country.  Following the October 23 elections, IRI will issue a statement on the preliminary findings of the delegation. 

These historic elections will elect a constituent assembly, which will be responsible for drafting Tunisia’s new constitution and they mark an important step in Tunisia’s transition since popular protests brought down the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. 

IRI’s delegation will be led by The Honorable Tim Pawlenty, former Governor of Minnesota with His Excellency Emil Constantinescu, former President of Romania as co-leader.

Delegates are:

• Hossam El Din Ali, Chairman of the Egyptian Democracy Academy;
• Judy Black, Policy Director at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP;
• Barbara Haig, Deputy to the President for Policy and Strategy at theNational Endowment for Democracy;
• Brian Haley, former National Finance Director for Pawlenty for President;
• Eman al-Hussein, member of the Arab Women’s Leadership Institute’s Board of Directors and Assistant Professor at Al-balqa’ Applied University in Jordan;
• Pierre Prévôt-Leygonie, strategic and campaign communications consultant and former Director of Fundraising and Communications for Mobilisation Directe in France;
• Krzysztof Lisek, member of the European Parliament from Poland;
• Tami Longaberger, Chief Executive Officer of the Longaberger Company and Chair of the Arab Women’s Leadership Institute’sBoard of Directors;
• Nader Said, President of the Arab World for Research and Development, an independent research center in the West Bank;
• Amanda W. Schnetzer, Director for Human Freedom at the George W. Bush Institute;
• Charity N. Wallace, Director for the Women’s Issues at the George W. Bush Institute; and
• Richard S. Williamson, Vice Chairman of IRI’s Board of Directors, former United Nations Ambassador and Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan.

IRI staff will also serve as observers and assist in the mission.  IRI staff will be led by Lorne W. Craner, President of IRI; Thomas Garrett, IRI’s Vice President for Programs; Scott Mastic, IRI’s Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa programs; and Djordje Todorovic, IRI’s Resident Country Director in Tunisia.

Upon arrival in Tunisia, delegates will be briefed by representatives from the U.S. Embassy, Tunisia’s Independent Higher Authority for Elections, international and Tunisian nongovernmental organizations, political parties and representatives of the media.  They will also be briefed on Tunisian election law, and the rights and responsibilities of international observers.

Delegates will then be deployed throughout the country where they will observe polling stations and identify and evaluate strengths and weaknesses in Tunisia’s election system, including campaign regulations, the balloting process, vote tabulation and reporting.

IRI has also deployed long-term observers throughout the country to observe election related activities such as political campaigns and rallies, and are in contact with electoral stakeholders.  These efforts will give IRI observers a better understanding of the election environment.  Long-term observers will also observe voting, vote counting and tabulation on Election Day.

Since 1983, IRI has monitored more than 135 elections in more than 43 countries.