CEPPS/IFES Quarterly Report: July 01 – September 30, 2014

Despite the deteriorating security situation and IFES' evacuation from Baghdad, the project provided support to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) in assessing and learning from the Council of Representatives (CoR) and Iraq Kurdistan Region (IKR) Governorate Council (GC) elections. A total of nine workshops were implemented to target various aspects of elections conduct and elections management. These workshops were attended by a total of 251 participants, with 31 female participants, representing 101 out of 150 participants from the governorates. The workshops focused on lessons learned and continuous voter registration planning, finance and audit departments, media section, political entities agents and observers accreditation procedures, electoral complaints, central committee on polling staff recruitment, special and general voting procedures, and out of country voting. Throughout the reporting period, IFES' advisors continued to develop IHEC's Strategic Plan outline and worked on IHEC's outreach campaign plan for the continuous voter registration process. They also developed concept papers, agendas, and training materials for the lessons learned workshops. The IHEC Board of Commissioners Chairman expressed his gratitude to IFES for maintaining the in-country presence and continuing its work despite the security situation. On July 9, USAID gave the IFES Elections Support Project a no-cost extension for a period of one year from the current expiration date of September 30, 2014 to September 30, 2015. This extension allowed the project to continue its support to the IHEC and the Iraqi electoral process. The security situation in Iraq continued to deteriorate during the reporting period, with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) forces increasingly targeting the Government of Iraq (GoI). The ISIS offensives reduced in tempo in July, but the group remained in control of Mosul and several small cities in the Ninewa and Salah al-Din provinces. The Kurdish Peshmerga forces took over control of Kirkuk, Tuz Kharmatu, and Khanaqin. In mid-July, the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) began more actively engaging with the ISIS in the northern and western regions. The ISF demonstrated better use of intelligence and combined resources and were better able to locate and target the ISIS strategic personnel and strongholds. At the beginning of August, the ISIS launched its biggest offensive since the establishment of the 'caliphate' with a series of major attacks in the North, which overran Ninewa and threatened Erbil. The Kurdish Peshmerga forces continued their offensive efforts in Ninewa, in the area around Mosul, reoccupying several villages with U.S. and French air support. Fighting also intensified to the west of Mosul, particularly towards Sinjar, as the U.S. air support continued to assist Yazidi fighters. The Kurdish Peshmerga operations also expanded in this area. On September 30, the United States and Great Britain launched 24 more airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, making it the biggest day yet in the air war against the ISIS. The British forces conducted their first two airstrikes in Iraq since joining the military campaign. The latest strikes in Iraq and Syria showed that the United States will continue to fight the ISIS as a prolonged campaign is expected. The government formation process in Iraq continued to be delayed due to the security situation and the failure of the Members of Parliament (MPs) to elect a new Speaker. The acting Speaker Mahdi al-Hafez called off proceedings after most of the Sunni and Kurdish members did not return after a break, causing lack of a quorum. The Iraqi Prime Minister (PM), Nouri al-Maliki, declared that he would not give up seeking a third term despite allegations of sectarianism and authoritarianism amid a sweeping crisis.