The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Lebanese Elections Assistance Project (LEAP), funded by the EU and USAID, established and supported a call center at the premises of the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM), to receive and answer calls from the Lebanese citizens including voters, candidates, polling staff, and to provide them with needed information.
The project recruited and trained a team of UN Volunteers to serve as hotline operators during the voter registration update and electoral periods.On E-Day, the call center received and answered 7335 calls from polling officers: 85% were general inquiries and 15% reported on missing items.
During the voter’s registration update, from 1 February to 1 March, the UN volunteers helped the Lebanese citizens to verify their data on the voters’ register and provided them with necessary information on how to correct a mistake, if any. During the voter registration update period, the call center received 973 calls: 61% checking the voters’ register, 27% asking about the electoral law, 4% inquiring about the ID and passport, 1% complaints, and 7% asking miscellaneous questions.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
The EU-funded UNDP Lebanese Elections Assistance Project (LEAP) started its activities in October 2012 with the main objective to strengthen the institutional capacity of the national institutions and stakeholders in terms of electoral management and administration, for the conduct of credible, periodical, transparent and inclusive elections in Lebanon.
To achieve these objectives, UNDP LEAP works closely with the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM), responsible for electoral management, administration and overall electoral operations. The project also supports other electoral stakeholders, such as the Constitutional Council, State Council, Supervisory Commission for the Election (SCE), judicial bodies and works in close cooperation with civil society organizations (CSOs). Within this context, UNDP LEAP provides electoral technical assistance and advisory support focused on: 1) management & administration of elections; 2) supervisory commission for elections; 3) voter education; 4) electoral dispute resolution; and 5) women’s participation in elections.