BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 26, 2004 — The establishment of Neighborhood and District Advisory Councils gave the people of Baghdad an opportunity to experience community democracy for the first time in more than 35 years.

More than 700 Iraqi’s served as members of their local councils, representing the 5.9 million citizens of Baghdad.

For the first time since Saddam Hussein came to power the people of Baghdad have a democratic, representative system in place that gives them a voice and provides a direct communication link to the governing body of Iraq.

In May 2003, the Coalition Provisional Authority-Baghdad in coordination with the 1st Armored Division’s brigade combat teams launched a program to secure the first foothold for democracy for the citizens of Baghdad.

Battalion commanders, along with a committee of Baghdad municipal and Coalition Provisional Authority officials held initial gatherings throughout the city’s 88 neighborhoods to discuss democracy and to develop the advisory council program.

No citizen was turned away and every person’s ideas were considered and discussed.

The leaders decided that each of the 88 neighborhoods, nine districts and the city of Baghdad would have an advisory council.

Residents attending the meetings chose from among themselves the first members to their Neighborhood Advisory Councils.

The size of each council was based on the neighborhood’s population. In addition to selecting members based upon community numbers, they were required to ensure that their council represented the demographic nature of their neighborhood in terms of gender, religion and ethnicity.

Members of the council received training from their battalion sponsors and the Coalition Provisional Authority-Baghdad governance team. Council members were taught principles of council procedures, protocol, problem solving and planning.

Battalions assigned a mentor to each neighborhood council to be their guide as they learned the ropes of representing the people.

After a few weeks, the fledgling councils were functioning well and were ready to implement the next level of councils.

The 88 neighborhoods were grouped into nine districts. District council seats were established and the neighborhood councils selected the district council members.

The Baghdad City Advisory Council was established and new members were selected from the district councils by their members in July 2003.

Later in the year, a Regional and Provincial council was selected, completing the democratic council system for the Baghdad Province.

The councils are functioning in an interim status until formal elections can be held for council membership. The councils are advisory in nature and, although they have no legislative powers, they serve as the voice for the Baghdad communities.

The councils are heavily involved in the reconstruction of all public services such as schools, police stations and fire stations. They work with municipal authorities in coordinating sanitation operations, repairing water and sewage systems, assist in the distribution of propane fuel and work to resolve other challenges arising during the day-to-day management of a city of six million people.

Other council projects undertaken last year include:
· Working with city officials to implement an $11 million program to improve public services such as trash removal and road repair which employed more than 75,000 people.

Arranging for water treatment units and a distribution network for the 100,000 inhabitants of the Hayy Tarik Neighborhood.
· Working with small business owners and a nongovernmental organization to fund a new $800,000 commercial center in the Jedidah Neighborhood.

Obtaining $10,000 for community improvement projects for Sadr City’s 103 sectors. Each sector formed a resident’s committee that selected improvement projects for its neighborhoods.

In addition to working with municipal authorities, the advisory council system also coordinates with national-level Iraqi authorities and ministries to help manage their city’s operation.

Baghdad’s community councils have given a voice to the city’s residents. For the first time in more than 35 years, the people of Baghdad have a direct and meaningful say in the affairs of their community and their city.