Addis Ababa, 8 February 2016: Following an invitation from the Government of the Republic of Benin, 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 Benin’s Presidential Election scheduled for 28 February 2016.

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 20 February to 4 March 2016 to observe the voting, counting and announcement of election results.

The AU Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) to Benin 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 Coordinator:

Mr Samuel Atuobi (atuobis@africa-union.org).

Directorate of Information and Communication
Directorate of Information and Communication | Information and Communication | African Union Commission

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Addis Ababa | Ethiopia