More than $ 15 m to Support the Electoral

Source: UNDP Press release ,26/5/2013


The new voters registry remains a major challenge for Yemen and its partners, said UNDP

SANA’A- The United Kingdom, Sweden and Japan announced today a contribution of US $15,200,000 in support of the coming voter registration, Referendum and electoral process in Yemen.

This support will be channeled through the Multi-donors Basket Fund, administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and will serve to bolster the implementation of the Support to the Elections during the Transitional Period (SETP) project in Yemen.

The SETP project aims to support the planning and administration of voter registration, the constitutional referendum, and remaining elections of the transitional period; to support inclusive electoral legal framework reform and to increase participation of civil society, political parties, women, youth and persons with disabilities in electoral processes.

The contributions of United Kingdom [US $9,200,000], Sweden [US $4,000,000] and Japan [US $2,000,000] were confirmed by their representatives in Yemen today at a press conference organized by the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum (SCER) and UNDP.

The Chairman of the SCER, Mohammed Hussein Haidar Al-Hakimi, stated that “this support is integral in assisting the SCER in the implementation of the electoral events envisioned during the transitional process”.

Gustavo Gonzalez, UNDP Senior Country Director, highlighted that “these contributions not only demonstrate the commitment of international partners to support the Yemeni transition, but also their trust on the capacities of SCER to conduct the coming elections.

An important part of this financial support will be allocated to the preparation of the new voters registry, which remains a major challenge for Yemen and its partners”, he added.

The UNDP Multi-donors Basket Fund (MDBF) is a large donor’s platform to support the electoral cycle in Yemen, composed of the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, United Nations Peace Building Fund and UNDP.

This platform will shortly be reinforced by the participation of The Netherlands and Turkey.

Through the MDBF, UNDP will technically and financially assist the SCER in assessing, planning and fostering partnership in support of the elections, while also developing national capacities through obtaining knowledge from global experiences. Through the previously established Multi-Donor Basket Fund, UNDP will support the implementation of critical electoral operations as envisioned in the transitional period.

In addition to the MDBF, voter registration and the electoral processes in Yemen are also benefiting from bilateral contributions from USAID and the European Union.