Addis Ababa, 24 March 2017: Following an invitation from the Government of the Republic of the Republic of The Gambia, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), His Excellency Moussa Faki Mahamat, has approved the deployment of an African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) to The Gambia’s National Assembly Elections scheduled for 6 April 2017 from 27 March to 12 April 2017.

The Mission comprises forty (40) short-term observers (STOs) drawn from members of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) of the African Union, the Pan-African Parliament, African Election Management Bodies, Civil Society Organisations working in the area of democracy, governance and elections in Africa, Think Tanks, and independent election experts.

The African Union Elections Observation Mission draws its mandate from various African Union instruments, most importantly: (a) the African Union Guidelines for Elections Observation and Monitoring Missions (2002); (b) the OAU/AU Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa (2002); African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (1981) and (c) African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007), among others.

The objectives of the Mission is (a) to provide an accurate and impartial reporting or assessment of the quality of the 6 April 2017 National Assembly Elections in the Republic of The Gambia, including the degree to which the conduct of the elections meets regional, continental and international standards for democratic elections; (b) to offer recommendations for improvement of future elections based on the findings; and, and (c) to demonstrate AU’s interest to support The Gambia’s elections and democratisation process to ensure that the conduct of genuine elections contributes to the consolidation of democratic governance, peace and stability in The Gambia.

For more information, please contact the Mission Coordinator: Samuel Atuobi |

E-mail: atuobis@africa-union.org
 

For media inquiries contact:

Directorate of Information and Communication Tel: +251 11 518 25 58 | E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org  | African Union Commission

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