The joint African Union Commission (AUC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) officially declare the arrival of their Joint Election Observation Mission (EOM), for the 10^th, 11^th and 12^th December 2023 Presidential Elections in the Arab Republic of Egypt. At the invitation of the Government of Egypt and the National Elections Authority (NEA), the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, His Excellency Moussa Faki Mahamat, approved the deployment of the short-term AUEOM to assess and report on the conduct of this election.

Led by Her Excellency Dr. Specioza Wandira Kazibwe, former Vice President of Uganda, in collaboration with Ambassador John O. Kakonge, member of the COMESA Committee of Elders, the joint mission is comprised of 70 Short Term Observers (STOs) who include Ambassadors accredited to the African Union, Officials of Election Management Bodies, members of African civil society organisations, African election experts, human rights specialists, gender and media experts, and representatives of women and youth organizations. The observers are drawn from 36 countries which include Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sharawi Arab Republic Sudan, Somalia South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The observers will be deployed to 16 of Egypt’s 25 regions.

The AU/COMESA EOM will base its assessment of the upcoming election on the legal framework governing elections in the Arab Republic of Egypt and the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections, the standards and obligations stipulated in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), and the International Declaration of Principles (DoP) for International Election Observation among others.

The Joint Mission shall interact with state authorities, the National Elections Authority, political parties, the media, civil society organisations and representatives of the international and diplomatic community. It will equally cooperate with other Election Observation Missions deployed to observe the 2023 Presidential Elections in Egypt.

The Joint Mission will release a Preliminary Statement of its overall assessment of the conduct of the elections on 14 December 2023 at a press conference in Cairo, Egypt. A final and comprehensive report will be released within one month from the date of announcement of final election results and will be posted on the AU Commission and COMESA websites.

The Joint Mission’s Secretariat is located at the Royal Maxim Palace Kempiski in Cairo, Egypt.  For more information about the Mission and its activities, please contact: Ms. Karine Kakasi Siaba| AUEOM Coordinator| Email: Kakasik@africa-union.org | Mobile: +201148300520. For media-related information, please contact: Ms. Limi Mohammed Shash | Communication focal person in Governance & Conflict Prevention Directorate, AUC, Email: shashlm@africa-union.org.

Cairo, 8 December 2023