Since the fall of the Taliban, the International Republican Institute (IRI) has supported Afghan candidates and
voters through two election cycles, including presidential elections in 2004 and 2009, parliamentary elections in 2005
and 2010, and provincial council elections in 2009. Now, ahead of elections in 2014, IRI’s work has largely turned
to enlarging grassroots and parliamentary issue-based coalitions and improving the responsiveness of Afghanistan’s
local governments to the priorities of their constituents.
In its democratic governance work, IRI assists grassroots issue-based coalitions comprising more than 80,000
members, including women, young people and under-represented ethnic groups from every region of the country,
to advocate for a range of polices. These coalitions serve as access points to educate Afghans about the power of
organization and political participation, encouraging them to form and solidify voting blocs deserving the attention
of prospective candidates. Connecting these issue coalitions to government is essential.
To do this, IRI has helped parliamentarians form caucuses that can develop legislative solutions to the problems
raised by issue coalitions, thus improving government service delivery. Through its Afghan Leadership Academy,
IRI also provided workshops in civic education, Afghan human rights law, election law and parliamentary procedure
to young civil society activists who now form the backbone of many civil society organizations.
IRI currently partners with a trio of Kabul-based civil society groups that are leading campaigns for greater local and
national government accountability. Recent efforts include town-hall meetings, which provide a platform for
citizens to air their grievances to their elected officials, rural working groups connecting local government officials
with traditional leaders and civic education workshops. IRI also focuses on developing the cohesion and
effectiveness of civil society groups, and provides workshops so that they can better represent the needs of the
Afghan people
IRI civil society work is supported by the Gap Bezan – or Speak Up – program. Gap Bezan is a comprehensive
media campaign (including short-form documentaries, billboards, television ads and other print media) encouraging
Afghans to hold elected government accountable.
Active in every election cycle since 2004 supporting voter education campaigns, providing campaign workshops to
candidates and serving as election observers, IRI has again begun conducting campaign workshops for independent
candidates planning to run for political office in the 2014 elections. These two-day sessions cover the four key steps
to reaching voters during a campaign: Targeting specific demographics, reaching individual voters, tracking voter
affiliation and the issues they most identify with, and increasing voter turnout on Election Day.