In view of the forthcoming elections in the Central African Republic, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) H.E. Dr NKOSAZANA Dlamini Zuma has deployed an African Union Election Observation Mission, to observe the presidential and legislative elections on 27 December 2015.

The Mission is led by H.E. SOULEYMANE NDENE NDIAYE, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Senegal and comprises 40 observers. The AUEOM is made up of African Ambassadors to the African Union in Addis Ababa, former members of the Pan-African Parliament, officials of Election Management Bodies and members of African civil society organizations. The Observers come from the following 18 African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.

The Mandate of the AUEOM is to assess the regularity, fairness and credibility of the presidential and legislative elections of 27 December 2015. This mandate is based on relevant provisions of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, adopted in 2007 and which entered into force in 2012, that seeks to enhance electoral processes in Africa, strengthen electoral institutions and the conduct of free, fair and transparent elections; the AU/OAU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa (2002); the Guidelines for African Union Electoral Observation and Monitoring Missions (2002) and other relevant international instruments governing election observation, as well as the national legal framework regulating the conduct of the presidential and legislative elections in the Central African Republic.

To this end, the Mission will meet with political and judicial authorities in the country, defence and security officials, institutions in charge of elections, media regulatory organs, candidates for the elections, civil society organizations and representatives of the international community, in order to be informed of the measures taken to ensure the conduct of transparent, credible and fair elections. The Mission will interact with other election observation missions in the country and diplomatic missions present in the Central African Republic.

After the vote, the Mission will release its initial findings and conclusions on the electoral process during a press conference. Detail information on the press conference will be provided. At the end of the electoral process, the AUEOM will present its detailed assessment on the overall conduct of the elections, in a final report which will be presented to the authorities of the Central African Republic and also published.

The Secretariat of the Mission is at Hotel Ledger Plaza, Bangui.

The AU Election Observation Mission thanks the Central African Republic’s authorities for the invitation and for the measures taken to facilitate its work on the entire national territory.

Bangui, 23rd December 2015

For the Mission
H.E. SOULEYMANE NDENE NDIAYE
Head of Mission

For further information on the mission, please contact the AUEOM coordinator, Miss Karine Kakasi SIABA via Tel: + 236 75 41 04 19 / + 236 70 10 67 83; email at: kakasik@africa-union.org;

For Media information, please contact:
Michael Fikre Merid | Email: MichaelF@africa-union.org | Directorate of Information and Communication | AUC

For further information:
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@african-union.org I Website: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

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