Egypt

DETAILS:

Egyptian women MPs are an absolute minority in the Egyptian legislative bodies where women MPs in the Peoples’ Assembly are only 9 out of a total of 454 MPs and in the Shura Council, they are 18 out of a total of 262. The above initiative was designed to: a) build the capacity of women MPs in legislative and oversight issues, b) make the performance of women MPs visible to the public by documenting the experiences, success stories and lessons learned of former and prominent women MPs as well as women members of local councils.

The project, which was implemented by the National Council for Women, set up a Parliamentary Forum for Women MPs which was convened for Six full day sessions to debate and discuss with Senior MPs, experts topics such as the Legislative Role of the Parliament; Analysis of the National Budget; Parliamentary Democracy etc.

With the constitutional reform that was initiated by the political leadership, the project was well position to provide the forum for women MPs to discuss and debate the constitutional reform. The project organized 3 additional sessions of the Parliamentary Forum to discuss with senior legal advisors, MPs and experts the main articles suggested for review such as a new election system to ensure minimum representation for women; modernizing the local administration; strengthening parliamentary oversight; elections supervision; strengthening the independence of the judiciary.

The outcome of these deliberations within the Parliamentary Forum were presented in a conference with the participation Egypt’s First Lady as well as the Speakers of the Upper and Lower Houses.

The project will also conduct studies on three constituencies were women were elected in the parliamentary elections last 2005 with a view assess the variables that affect the election of women in a single constituency.

CONTACTS:

Ms. Amina Abdel Aziz, National Project Director, National Council for Women

DETAILS:

The project contributes to the electoral reform process in Egypt by increasing the awareness of stakeholders about electoral procedures and providing tools with which to spread that understanding.  UNDP-Egypt and IFES-DC, in cooperation with the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) ran a BRIDGE training course (Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections) in 2007. The present project is a response to the demand for more training.  Participation protocols will be signed with various stakeholders, including the High Elections Council, and course material will be adapted to be appropriate for each stakeholder group.

The other major component of the project is to strengthen the Election Monitoring Unit at the NCHR.  Training will be provided and the project will develop election-related documents for NCHR to distribute. An evaluation of activities will be undertaken and lessons learned will be documented, along with making recommendations for how NCHR can continue to strengthen its role in Election Monitoring.

CONTACTS:

H.E. Ambassador Mokhles Kotb, National Project Director