Addis Ababa, 5 February 2018: The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, will deploy an African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) in the Republic of Sierra Leone as the country prepares to hold General Elections on 7 March 2018,
The deployment of the AUEOM takes place in two phases. The first phase comprises the deployment of 10 long-term election experts and takes place from 10 February to 21 March 2018. 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 long term experts will be joined by 40 Short Term observers from the 26 February to 11 March 2018.
The objectives of the AUEOM are: (a) to provide an accurate and impartial reporting or assessment of the quality of 7 March General Elections, including the degree to which the conduct of the elections meets regional, continental and international standards for democratic elections; (b) to offer recommendations for improvement of future elections based on the findings; and (c) to demonstrate AU’s interest to support Sierra Leone’s elections and democratisation process to ensure that the conduct of genuine elections contributes to the consolidation of democratic governance, peace and stability.

The AUEOM 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.
For more information, contact: Mr. Samuel Atuobi, Senior Political/Elections Officer, Department of Political Affairs, African Union Commission (AtuobiS@africa-union.org).