An EAC Election Observer Mission is in the Republic of Burundi for the Legislative elections in the country, slated for 23 July 2010. The Mission seeks to assess whether conditions exist for the conduct of elections that allow the people of Burundi to freely express their will and determine whether elections are conducted in accordance with the legal framework for elections in Burundi.
Its other objectives are to determine whether the final results of the electoral process as a whole reflect the wishes of the people of Burundi; and to assess whether the elections meet the benchmarks set out in the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, the UN Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Hon. Lydia Wanyoto Mutende, a Member of East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) heads the 25-member Mission which comprises EALA members; Members of National Assemblies from the Republic of Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and United Republic of Tanzania; Members from the EAC Partner States’ Electoral Commissions; Members from the Partner States Human Rights Commissions; Membership from the Private Sector; and officials from the EAC Secretariat.
In carrying out its work, the Mission will be guided by the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, the Code of Conduct for International Election Observers and the draft EAC Guidelines for Elections Observation, Monitoring and Evaluation. The principles require that the Observers should understand and respect the law governing the elections, the social, cultural and historic back ground of the society in which the Elections are being conducted.
The EAC Election Observer Mission is in Burundi at the invitation of National Independent Electoral Commission of Burundi (CENI). A similar mission was in the country last month to monitor the presidential elections held on 28 June.
Additional information
The deployment of the Mission is in line with Articles 3 (b), 6 (d) and 7 (2) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC (Treaty) which requires ‘…adherence to universally acceptable principles of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice’.
To this end, the EAC Partner States have agreed under Article 123 to cooperate in the areas stated for the purpose of achieving the objectives of the Community under Article 5 of the Treaty. The EAC has the mandate under Article 5 (3) to ensure that these stated objectives are realised.
Deployment and Activities:
Members arrived on 17 July 2010 and will remain in the country until 26 July 2010, and will:
- Attend meetings with as many relevant stakeholders as possible
- Cover the following Provinces; Bujumbura Mairie and Bujumbura Rural, Bubanza; Ngozi; Makamba; Kayanza; Muyinga; Gitega; Bururi; Muranvya and Rutana
- Visit as many polling stations as possible
- Interact with CENI officials, Polling agents, Civil Society Organizations, Political Parties, other Election Observers, voters and other relevant stakeholders on matters of the electoral process
Pending submission of a final report at a later stage, the EAC Observer Mission will issue a preliminary report shortly after the conclusion of the Legislative elections.
As the EAC moves deeper in the integration process with the ultimate goal of attaining a political federation, standardising governance frameworks and proactively taking interest in political and electoral processes of Partner States in particular, has become an imperative. This is why the EAC is in the process of developing Guidelines for Elections Observation, Monitoring and Evaluation.
The EAC Observer Mission highly commends the Government and the people of Burundi for the peaceful communal and presidential elections recently held and it is our wish that the Legislative and subsequent elections will also be peaceful.
