It followed the multi-stakeholder meeting in Erbil, Iraq at the end of August. This event was part of the Protecting Electoral Processes in the Information Environment project funded by the German Federal Foreign Office (FFO).
In preparation for the parliamentary election on 11 November 2025, 19 participants, including judges, directors and a media unit of IHEC, attended the training led by an International IDEA communication expert and a local Iraqi journalist, who provided recommendations on working with the media around election day. This was complemented by hands-on training where each participant could practice an interview in front of TV cameras. The videos were subsequently discussed with the trainees. Other tabletop exercises included press conferences and crisis management scenario simulations. All of the simulations were followed by a debrief among participants.
This workshop is part of the Protecting Electoral Processes in the Information Environment project funded by the German Federal Foreign Office (FFO). This project aims to improve the protection of electoral processes by countering malign influencing practices and learning from evolving discourse and engagement in six different focus countries. Informed by global best practices and exchanges between partner countries, the project will enable national actors in focus countries to identify suggestions for the way forward, work towards implementing suggestions, and share lessons learned with global audiences.
About the authors
