Arab Parliaments: Web Resources

The Administration and Cost of Elections (ACE) represents the first-ever attempt to provide a globally accessible information resource on election administration. It provides user-friendly, operationally oriented information on options, detailed procedures, alternative solutions and the administrative and cost implications associated with organizing elections.

Al-Quds Center for Political Studies is an independent research institute that aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the developments and challenges facing the Jordanian state and society. Among its many interests, the center focuses on encouraging political participation and pays special attention to political parties through conducting seminars and studies on various aspects relating to it.

The Coalition for Accountability and Integrity-AMAN, is a coalition of six Palestinian NGO’s, namely: The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy “MIFTAH”, Arab Thought Forum “ATF”, The Palestine Trade Center “PalTrade”, The Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy “MUWATIN”, and Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, The Palestinian Council on Foreign Relations. The coalition, which acts as Transparency Palestine, aims at combating corruption in the Palestinian society, and achieving the widest participation in its implementation. Among its many interests, Aman has focused on the role of political parties and political party legislation, through conducting workshops and publishing related material on this topic.

This network aims at strengthening the understanding of the democratic principles of the municipal, parliamentary, and presidential elections. The function of the network is to monitor, follow up and watch the processes and facts pertaining to the elections in the Arab World.

Arab Women and Political Participation is one of the major Arab websites as it ensures daily stocktaking of women's political activity in the Arab world. The website aims at familiarizing Arab women with their political rights, and supporting their itinerary by providing references, documents, news and activities. It is one of the websites of the Sisterhood Is Global Institute/Jordan.

Website of the Association of Women's Rights in Development (AWID). The website focuses on three main themes relating to gender equality, sustainable development, and women's human rights. It contains an issues and analysis section covering all regions and various aspects relating to the website themes. It also includes primary research and dialogues with key policy makers on the areas of focus.

Campaigning against Fear: Women’s Participation in Afghanistan’s 2005 Elections [ English ]. 2005 [brief description]

This paper, published by the Human Rights Watch, provides recommendations for overcoming the obstacles facing Afghan women participation in politics. It provides an overview of the status of Afghan women, and highlights the barriers facing them in the participation of the 2005 elections.

Centre for Advacement of Wome in Politics (CAWP), established in 2000 and based in the School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy at Queen's University Belfast. The centre aims to foster an appreciation of women's contributions to politics, government, and public decision making in the UK and Ireland. The website includes research on women's political participation and representation, public attitudes to women in politics, and women in parliament.

Center for Free Election and Democracy (CESID) is a non-governmental organization established in 1997 in Belgrade, that aims at contributing to the establishment of the rule of law and the enhancement of democratic values and institutions in Serbia and Montenegro. CESID is promoting these values through its educational and research programs and by organizing voters to monitor elections, as well as by analysis and research of pre-election and election activities of actors involved in this process.

Website of the Council of Women World Leaders, a network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers. The council aims to promote good governance and enhance democracy globally by mobalizing the highest-level of women leaders for collective action on gender issues and equitable development. The website contains a resources section providing links to women's leadership.

International Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is a non-partisan, independent, non-for-profit network of European experts that promotes political participation of citizens, accountability of state bodies and the development of democratic institutions world-wide. DRI analyzes, reports and makes recommendations to the public and policy makers on democratic developments. The website contains detailed reports on the legal framework in 8 Arab countries and its impact on elections and democratic freedoms in general. The countries of focus are Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Yemen.

Website of the Development Cooperation Directorate (DCD-DAC) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which activities are carried out primarily through the Network of Gender Equality (GENDERNET). GENDERNET is an international forum that brings together gender equality experts from bilateral and multi-lateral development agencies to define common approaches and share good practice and innovative ideas on gender-related topics. The website includes articles, presentations, manuals, and statistics on gender-related topics.

Website of the Education Centre for Women in Democracy (ECWD). The centre, based in Kenya, aims to increase the presence of women in leadership and decision making, both locally and regionally. It also runs three programmes, one of which is on women in public life.

The Election Guide reports on all national-level presidential and legislative elections as well as on important national referenda with occasional coverage of local, municipal, mayoral elections.

Managed under IFES' Applied Research Center (ARC), the Election Violence Education and Resolution (EVER) Project is an initiative that identifies conditions, causes, practices, or failures provoking electoral violence in order to prevent, manage, or reduce opportunities for friction in elections and campaigns. The online portal provides the user with details of the methodology utilized to implement election-violence monitoring, as well as data from specific IFES EVER activities and resources such as news stories, articles and analysis addressing election-related violence.

Global Database of Quotas for Women is a joint project of International IDEA and Stockholm University. This website provides information on the various types of quotas existing today, detailing the percentages and targets in countries where they are applicable.

Website of the Global Fund for Women, an international network of women and men committed to a world of equality and justice. The fund makes grants to women groups including grants to groups advancing women's political participation. The website includes a section on women's leadership.

Website of the Institute for Women's Policy Research. The institute conducts research on poverty and welfare, employment and earnings, work and family, and women's civic and political participation. Research findings are disseminated to policy makers, scholars, and policy interest groups to illuminate economic and social policy affecting women and families.

Website of the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) a network of Gender Focal Points in United Nations offices, specialized agencies, funds and programmes. The Network plays a central role in promoting gender equality throughout the United Nations system. The Network also monitors and coordinates the mainstreaming of gender perspectives in the normative operational work of the UN system.

Website of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). The website focuses on ways to promote women's economic role and rights, participation, and gender equality. The research produced by IRCW is presented to experts and policy makers to influences their decisions and policies formulated within government and international agencies from a gender-sensitive perspective.

IFES provides professional advice and technical assistance in promoting democracy and serves as an information clearinghouse on democratic development. In addition to its comprehensive work in election support, IFES programming extend to governance, rule of law, civil society.

The International Institute (IDEA) has among its many themes aiming at promoting democracy, dedicated a theme that focuses on developing political parties. Areas of interest range from reviewing external regulation and enforcement, public funding, internal management and democracy, relations with civil society and the public, to political equality and participation, especially of underrepresented groups.

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance- Electoral Processes [ English ]. [brief description]

International IDEA provides support for making electoral administration more professional. It supports the design of professionally managed independent electoral processes which are tailored to local circumstances and engender public confidence in legitimate and credible elections and referendums. The website provides knowledge resources about different issues related to the electoral process.

The IRI Institute is a non-profit organization that aims at advancing freedom and democracy worldwide by developing political parties, civic institutions, open elections, good governance, and the rule of law. It has conducted numerous workshops on developing political parties, and issued several publications on this topic.

Website of the International Women's Democracy Center established in 1995 to sterngthen women's global leadership with a particular focus on increasing participation of women in policy, politics, and decision making within their own governments. It includes a timeline of women's suffrage and a factsheet of women in politics.

List on the suffrage of women posted on the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) website. It indicates the year that women were granted both the right to vote and stand for elections in each country.

This website includes all the basic information relating to Jordan's 2003 Parliamentary Elections. It offers electoral laws, a list of candidates, related news and studies on elections.

Website of the League of Women Voters (LWV), a non-partisan grassroots organization established in the 1920s encouraging informed and active participation in government, and works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influence public policy through and education and advocacy. The website includes publications on elections and representative government.

Website of MENA Election Guide on elections and democratization in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It includes detailed information on elections and election processes in each country in the MENA region. The website also contains a section on reform initiatives.

The MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Election Guide is a service of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung's Regional Program Near East / Mediterranean - Amman office. This tool is a source of information and analysis about elections held in MENA countries in order to monitor the electoral and democratic processes under way in the region. Therefore, we provide a continuously updated collection of articles by Arab and international media as well as analysis and reports from different backgrounds.

National Democratic Institute's approach to election-related programs aim at promoting (a) the integrity of electoral and political processes and (b) the right of citizens to participate in government.

The National democratic Institute aims to develop the political parties. It engages in activities designed to build and strengthen the political parties as a basic institution of modern democracy. NDI trains political leaders, and provides political activists with the skills they require to establish representative, accountable, transparent and effective political parties.

The (NDI) is a nonprofit organization working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. It has a global program on political party development that provides democratic political activists with the skills they require to establish representative, accountable, transparent and effective political parties through providing information and technical assistance. Its programs address the institutional structures of a political party and methods to increase its effectiveness in the elections and in parliament, through conducting seminars, providing consultation and training, and publishing studies and manuals addressing these issues.

Website of the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), a United Sates based multi-partisan, multi-cultural grassroots organization dedicated to increasing women's political participation by providing training and funding to women candidates and supporting them at all levels in elections regardless of political affiliation. The website includes campaigning manuals and providers legislative updates concerning women in the United States.

Website of PROLEAD, a programme providing grants to women organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean to enhance women's leadership and participation. The website contains articles on women political leaders and women leadership.

EISA aims at promoting credible elections and democratic governance in Africa its programme areas include balloting & electoral services; conflict management, democracy & electoral education; governance and elections & political processes.

Website of Rights & Democracy, a non-partisan international organization established by the Canadian parliament in 1988. It aims to promote human rights and to develop democratic practices, institutions, and culture at the national and regional levels. The website contains publications on democratization and security sector reform.

Website of Shevolution, a UK based organization that supports the development of systems, services, and media for women and men to work together as equals in work, life, and politics. The website allows the sharing of news and information on gender issues and gender equality.

Website of Sisterhood Is Global Institute/Jordan, a non-profit organization established by a group of Jordanian women in 1998. The initiative is based on the vision and conviction that women issues are society's issues, and that women are main partners in facing challenges and building the future. The organization aims to reinforce and spread women rights, eliminate all forms of violence against women, create solidarity among women, build the capacities and develop the skills and knowledge of women, and encourage women participation in decision making and in the public, political and civil domains.

Website of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) established in 2005 with the primary purpose of supporting democratization throughout the world. It contains the UNDEF guidelines and descriptions of projects and programmes directed towards UNDEF's efforts in strengthening democratic institutions, promoting human rights, and the participation of all groups in democratic processes.

This website provides a comprehensive resource on the private funding of South African political parties. It provides the tools for political parties, policy makers and others to develop regulation of the private funding of political parties, and assists the media, civil society and the research community with background information on this issue. It also includes a database that will help keep track of reported instances of private funding of political parties.

Website of Women & Politics Institute of the School of Public Affairs at the American University. The institute provides academic training to young women that encourages them to become involved in the political process. It includes research on lawmaking, and women's representation and participation aiming to deepen women's understanding of the political arena.

Women Matter website is a content driven, non-partisan web based organization that is designed to educate women about political processes and help them to use those processes to better their own lives. It includes sections on voting rights, campaign financing, and security.

Website of Women's Rights and Citizenship, a programme launched in 2006 to support applied research in the field of women's rights, citizenship, and development. The website includes research articles on women's governance.

Website of Women STATS Project which constitutes a comprehensive compilation of information on the status of women in the world. It relies on 260 indicators to measure women's status in 174 countries and is based on vast related literature, and qualitative and quantitative information on the situation of women. The project's main purpose is to raise questions about the relationship between the situation and security of women, on the one hand, and the security, stability, and behavior of states on the other.

Website of Women Thrive, a U.S. based non-profit organization focused on influencing U.S. policy related to women in poverty in developing countries. The website includes sections on the organization's advocacy activities to shape and develop international assistance policies that foster economic opportunity for women in poverty.

Website of Women's Watch provided by the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE). Women's watch is a central gateway providing information and resources on gender equality and the empowerment of women throughout the world. Covers numerous aspects of women's issues including gender mainstreaming and women in power and decision making.

Website of Women's Campaign Forum, a non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing the political participation and leadership of women. Includes a section on candidates resources and extensive information on how to start a career in public life.

Website of Women's Centre for Democarcy and Human Rights (Globalizacija), a non-profit organization based in Subotica, Serbia, and Montenegro. The organization works towards developing a democratic society based on human rights, gender equality, and social justice. It includes sections on security and militarism, gender budgetig, and gender equality.

Website of Women's Environment and Development Organization which was established in 1990 with the aim of advancing women's perspectives at the United Nations and others forums, as well as at the national level by holding governments accountable to their commitments. The organization works on three main themes: climate change, corporate accountability, and governance. The website also includes a library containing policy documents.