Addis Ababa, 3 October 2017: As the Republic of Kenya prepares for fresh presidential election on 26 October 2017, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, will deploy an African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) to Kenya.
The deployment of the AUEOM takes place in two phases. The first phase comprises five (5) election experts and takes place from 24 September – 9 November 2017. This is to ensure that the AUEOM conducts a comprehensive observation and analysis of all relevant aspects of the electoral process.
During the second phase of the Mission, the experts will be joined by 80 Short Term observers from the 19 – 31 October 2017. The Short Term Mission will be headed by H.E. Thabo Mbeki, former President of the Republic of South Africa.
The African Union Elections Observation Mission draws its mandate from various African Union instruments, most importantly: (a) the African Union Guidelines for Elections Observation and Monitoring Missions (2002); (b) the OUA/AU Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa (2002); African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (1981) and (c) African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007), among others.

The objectives of the AUEOM are (a) to provide an accurate and impartial reporting or assessment of the quality of 26 October fresh presidential election, including preparation, voting and the results management process and the degree to which the conduct of the election meets regional, continental and international standards for democratic elections; (b) to offer recommendations for improvement of future elections based on the findings; and, and (c) to demonstrate AU’s interest to support Kenya’s elections and democratisation process to ensure that the conduct of genuine elections contributes to the consolidation of democratic governance, peace and stability in Kenya.

For more information:
Mr. Samuel Atuobi, Senior Political/Elections Officer, Department of Political Affairs, African Union Commission (AtuobiS@africa-union.org).
Media Enquiry :
Afrah Thabit; African Union Commission ;Directorate of Information and Communication, Thabitma@africa-union.org
For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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