USAID Awards Grant for Pakistan Election Observation

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded Democracy International a grant to organize an international election observation mission for the February 18, 2008 parliamentary elections in Pakistan. Led by former U.S. Congressman Jim Moody, the 35-person delegation will include leaders from the political, academic and foreign policy fields, as well as experts in election processes and Pakistani politics.

This mission will complement other international observers from Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan and the European Union.

The grant is part of the $1.5 billion in aid that the U.S. Government is providing to Pakistan, through USAID, over five years to improve economic growth, education, health, governance, and reconstruction of earthquake-affected areas.

Democracy International, based in Bethesda, MD., designs, evaluates, implements, and provides technical assistance for democracy and governance programs.

For more information about USAID and its programs in Pakistan, visit www.usaid.gov.

The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.

For further information contact the U.S. Agency for International Development Public Information Office at (202) 712-4810.