Kenya: EU Deploys Long-Term Election Observers
By NewsfromAfrica
NAIROBI--The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) in Kenya has deployed Long-Term Observer teams (LTOs) from Nairobi to begin their work in the regions of the country. A total number of 18 LTOs were deployed on Sunday morning in teams of two, to observe the electoral process in Kenya.
“Our plan is to send EU observers to every region of Kenya, and I hope that their work will contribute to a peaceful and transparent election,” Dr Gillian McCormack, Deputy Chief Observer of the mission said at the LTOs’ departure. “Elections cannot be observed only from a country’s capital. These observers will be our eyes and ears in the field, helping us to gather reliable information about the electoral process all around Kenya.”
Of the nine LTO teams, eight will be based in specific counties with a responsibility to cover other surrounding areas, and a mobile team will cover different locations from a base in Nairobi. The LTOs will observe the different phases of the electoral process in their area, meeting election officials, parties and candidates, civil society organisations and other stakeholders. They will report back to the Core Team, a group of experts stationed in Nairobi since 19 January.
At a later stage the LTO teams will be joined by a number of Short-Term Observers, who arrive from Europe approximately one week before Election Day. A group of Locally Recruited Short-Term Observers and a Delegation from the European Parliament will also join the Mission around Election Day. In total, the EU EOM will comprise up to 70 observers, with LTOs and STOs arriving from 25 of the 27 EU member states, as well from Switzerland and Norway.
The EU EOM was invited to Kenya by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), and it operates in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation. Its Code of Conduct demands strict neutrality and impartiality from all of its observers, and prohibits them from interfering in the electoral process in any form. The mission will present its findings in a comprehensive analysis shortly after Election Day, when a Preliminary Statement will be published. This will be followed by a more detailed Final Report, approximately two months after the elections.