Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, the 10 July 2017- The African Union Commission announces the arrival in the Republic of the Congo of an election observation mission for the legislative and local elections scheduled for the 16 July 2017. Upon the invitation from the official authority of the Republic of the Congo, the President of the African Union Commission, His Excellency Mr. S. E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, had deployed this mission in view of monitoring, evaluating and report on the conduct of the electoral process.
The Election Observation Mission of the African Union (AU) is led by His Excellency Mr. Django Sissoko, Former Prime Minister of Mali and comprises of 40 observers. It constitutes of ambassadors accredited to the African Union, members of the PanAfrican Parliament, electoral commission officials and members of African civil society organisations.
These observers come from 24 countries representative of the geographical diversity of the continent and the subregion such as Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Republic of Mauritius, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.
The Mission will observe the legislative and local elections in light of the relevant provisions of instruments governing election observation such as the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance adopted in 2007 and entered into force in 2012, which aims to strengthen electoral processes and institutions in Africa, and promote the conduct of fair, free and transparent elections; the 2002 African Union Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, the 2002 Guidelines for African Union Electoral Observation and Monitoring Missions, the African Peer Review Mechanism as well as the national legal framework applicable to the organisation of legislative and local elections in the Republic of Congo.
The Mission will undertake an honest, independent, professional and impartial observation of the conduct of the elections. This observation will focus on regularity, transparency, fairness and smooth running of the process. It will also meet with the political authorities of the country, the leaders of the defence and security forces, election institutions, political parties, the media, leaders of civil society organisations and representatives of the community the Republic of the Congo. The Mission will also interact with other Observer Missions deployed in the field.
The AU Mission will present its preliminary conclusions on the conduct of the elections and its recommendations during a press conference to be held on 19 July 2017 at 11 am at the Mikhael's Hotel in Brazzaville.
The AU Observer Mission arrives in Congo on 10 July and is expected to stay until 22 July 2017. Its secretariat is based at the Mikhael's Hotel in Brazzaville.
The Mission wishes to thank the authorities of the Republic of the Congo for the invitation extended to it and for any arrangements they may wish to take in order to facilitate its work on the ground.
Done at Brazzaville, on the 10th July 2017
For the Mission,
His Excellency Mr. Django Sissoko
Head of Mission
For further information, please contact:
Coordinator of the AU Mission
Karine Kakasi Siaba: +242 (0) 6 45 70 437
Email: Kakasik@africa-union.org
Democracy and Electoral Assistance Unit (DEAU)
Department of Political Affairs | AUC