FEFA election observers outside a polling center. 2009.
About Us
The Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) is a national, independent, non-governmental institution working to ensure that democratic processes are implemented transparently through networking, citizen participation and good governance. It was established in May 2004 by a coalition of civil society organizations for the purposes of:
– Monitoring elections to ensure they are free and fair
– Promoting democracy in the country
– Promoting public participation in public and electoral affairs
– Advancing the consolidation of public trust and faith in democracy and elections
FEFA’s vision for Afghanistan is to contribute to the formation of a peaceful, democratic and well-governed society where all citizens have equal rights and opportunities to participate in the public life of their country.
History
FEFA was registered with the Ministry of Justice on 12 June 2004 and is both an organization and a network. Its membership includes 15 domestic civil society organizations committed to strengthening the participation of Afghan citizens in public life and democratic processes. An additional 16 organizations partner with FEFA during elections.
Since its founding 7 year ago, FEFA remains the only Afghan organization with a nationwide presence to have observed all of Afghanistan’s national elections.
FEFA’s first initiative was to observe the October 2004 presidential elections, during which it deployed observers in 100 districts inside the country and in Pakistan for out-of-country voting. One year later, during the parliamentary elections, FEFA sent volunteer observers to 217 districts, covering 65 percent of all polling centers nationwide.
Over the course of the next 4 years, FEFA undertook a series of research projects to help educate the Afghan public on issues related to the conduct of free and fair elections.
In 2008, FEFA conducted a series of consultations with civil society organizations on potential amendments to the Electoral Law. FEFA also conducted a study on behalf of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) on the state of political financing in Afghanistan.
During the 2009 presidential and provincial council elections, FEFA launched its third observation mission, deploying 7,137 election monitors to polling stations in 34 provinces, covering 60 percent of all polling stations. FEFA’s final report on the elections, released in January 2010, contributed to the robust and impartial auditing of the 2009 electoral process.
2010 Election Projects
FEFA carried out its fourth and most difficult national observation mission during the 2010 parliamentary elections. The observation project, by far the largest in the country, was funded by the governments of Germany and Denmark and received technical support from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Asia Foundation. From the nomination of candidates through the final results and resolution of electoral disputes, FEFA observed and reported on every phase of the electoral process despite daunting security and logistical challenges in the field.
In tandem with its main observation project, FEFA also implemented an IFES-funded campaign finance monitoring project in Kabul province based on the findings of its earlier campaign finance study. This first-of-its-kind project aimed to increase awareness of political finance issues in the parliamentary elections, recommend reforms and establish campaign finance monitoring mechanisms for future elections. A final report on the project, ‘Monitoring Campaign Finance in the 2010 Wolesi Jirga Elections,’ was published in late December 2010.
Technical and financial support for building FEFA’s capacity to participate in political processes between and during future elections is currently being provided by NDI.
