Addis Ababa, 8 February 2016: Following an invitation from the Government of the Republic of Uganda, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Her Excellency Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has approved the deployment of an African Union Short-Term Election Observation (STO) Mission to the Republic of Uganda’s Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Council Elections scheduled for 18 February 2016.

The Honourable Lady Justice Mrs Sophia A.B. Akuffo, Judge of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Ghana, and former President of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights will lead the Mission, which comprises of forty (40) observers 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.

AU observers will be deployed from 10 to 22 February 2016 to observe the voting, counting and announcement of election results.

The AU Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) to Uganda has a mandate to observe and report on the credibility of the election process and will operate in accordance with relevant AU instruments for election observation, such as: the 2007 African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance; the 2002 AU/OAU Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa; 2002 AU Guidelines for Elections Observation and Monitoring Missions.

For more information, please contact the Mission Coordinators: Idrissa Kamara (kamarai@africa-union.org) and Sharon Ndlovu (ndlovus@africa-union.org).