EUˈs 110-member Team To Observe Pakistan’s Elections

Islamabad, March 27, IRNA – A group of 110-member team from the European Union will observe Pakistan’s May 11 parliamentary elections, the EU office in Islamabad has said. The EU has in the past observed Pakistanˈs national elections in 2002 and 2008. The European Union High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission, Ms Catherine Ashton, has decided to authorise an European Union Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Pakistan for the upcoming general elections, the statement said. A member of the European Parliament will lead the 2013 EU EOM as its Chief Observer. The EU EOM will include up to 110 members, including observers, experts, election analyst, political analyst, legal analyst, human rights analyst, media analyst and others. On the basis of special agreements with the EU, observers from Norway, Switzerland and Canada, are also part of the EU EOM. Some members will be deployed well in advance of election day, while others will be deployed at least ten days prior to the election day. The observers will assess all aspects of the election process, nomination of candidates, election campaign, counting, tabulation, announcement of official results and complaintsˈ procedures, and will cover pre-election preparations, election-day itself and the post-electoral period. The observers will follow the political campaign and hold regular meetings with representatives of election management bodies, political parties, candidates and civil society groups. The statement said that the EU sends observers to more than 100 elections in some 60 countries. “The purpose of the European Union Election Observation Missions is to support countries in their efforts to hold genuine elections by offering neutral and public assessments of electoral processes and highlighting how they might be improved”./end