EU Presidency declaration on elections in Liberia

The European Union is deeply concerned about the slow progress in carrying out electoral reform in Liberia, and in particular about the provisions introduced by the National Transitional Liberia Assembly into the draft law on the electoral systems to be applied for the 2005 elections. The European Union considers that the provisions adopted by the National Transitional Legislative Assembly lead to the creation of an electoral system which does not conform to universally accepted standards.

The European Union calls on the Members of the National Transitional Legislative Assembly to review the draft legislation bearing in mind the need to apply universally accepted principles for the organisation of democratic elections. The European Union attaches great importance to compliance with the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement which stipulates that elections shall be organised not later than October 2005.

The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.

* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

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