Democratic Rights and Citizen Education Program DRCEP

The DRCEP was an initiative of the national coalition, comprising of SUNGI NWFP, SAP-PK Punjab, PILER Sindh, SDPI as research partner and IDSP in Balochistan. Innovative ideas such as Community Theater were actively used in the program, which also resulted in an organization named Interactive Resource Center. The Democratic Rights and Citizen Education Program was initiated by five national partners of Civil Society, the program had following goals:

1. to promote political education among people to exercise their democratic rights for increasing people’s participation in political structure/electoral process
2. promoting the concept of good governance through a process of democratic and electoral education of citizen (esp. disadvantaged, women and minorities)
3. to revive the confidence of people on the political and electoral processes through collective civil society action

DRCEP Lessons Learning’s

• In Balochistan feudal regions like naserasad and Kachi elections were laminated by feudal and as the limit of election they became Dist Nazins and the dominanart power structure remained same in the present as they were in the past
• Despite of non party bariz elections in nrany Dist sard movince the political parties participated and played very power full role in the elections
• The programs played very effective role in political moralization of the voters in the rural areas where the channels of communication are very limited
• The Information material was very suppurated for the candidates and votes in chancing understanding the local govt plan 2000 and importance of local govt
• The national forms provided very effective forms for advocacy of the issues like provincial autonomy Joint electorate system for minaeties
• This program enhanced the copiates of local organizations to for citizen political educations and awareness of political issues local and national This program shored confined for public political education wariness of dewecratic systems and democratic culture
• The citizen light to vote freely with out any influence and their own choice needs more in-depth education and process for change in voting bhanions
• The govt need s to create comstreretime relationship with political parties and to help them to democratize themselves and play their positive role in notional reconstruction
• The role of National reconstruction becus should be decentralize at provincial and Dist level and the representation of all province must be meaningful included is policy making and implementation
• The govt officials and representative of local bodies shared be trained conceptually and practically to understand the dynamics of development to play their effective role in policy meeting and implementation in the contest of local realties and challenges
• The non party baris elections had enhanced the ethnicity and ettric conflicts in a tribal society like Balochistan
• In many tribal areas the local bodies members were selected by the tribal chefs and all election prcers was unapproved and the votes were not given a chance to adcercise thein democratic right to vote
• The interactive theater was very effective in the process of rairing wariness on critical issues during the elections
• The programmed has chanced the out reach of organizations and networking and collaboration with civil society organizations
• This program has held network and linkages with social and political activists and they participated in the program activities very actively
• Because of scarterd population of Balochistan and lake of resources and time many areas of the province were not cornered through this program
• The information and communication of NRB and election commission was not effective in rural areas because as they were to much defendant on TV and news paper which are mostly not available in rural areas of the province
• In Balochistan this program has mobilized the women in many areas this was the first time that women’s were participating in a pubic forum and sharing their Ideas and concerns very actively
• At union councels level the grs root youths leadership has been cnerged and because of increase in union council seasts the participation and representation has learn enhanced
• The different trible elite interest group has marginalized the political activist in Dist Nazim elections and played their traditional power germe very openly
• The elected women’s in local bodies require estenstive training to play their role in rairing women’s perspective in development and political structures