Mauritania: EU to deploy Election Observation Mission

FR - DE

Following an invitation from the Government of Mauritania, the European Commission has decided to deploy an EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Mauritania for the Legislative and Municipal elections scheduled to take place on 19 and 26 November 2006. The EU EOM will be led by French Member of the European Parliament, Marie-Anne Isler-Beguin, who will serve as Chief Election Observer.

European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, declared: "These elections mark another important step in the transition process in Mauritania and confirm the commitment of the authorities to work towards the re-establishment of democratic institutions following the successful constitutional referendum of last June. This mission also symbolises the normalisation of relations between the EU and Mauritania, following intensive political consultations over the past months. To enhance public confidence in the electoral process, I have decided to deploy an EU EOM and appoint Marie-Anne Isler-Beguin as its leader."

The EOM core team will consist of the Chief Election Observer and five experts who will arrive in the country during the first week of October. They will be joined by 20 Long-Term Observers (LTOs), who will observe the campaign period and pre-election preparations throughout the country as well as election day itself and the post-election period. A total of 40 Short-Term Observers (STOs), together with diplomats from EU Member State embassies in the capital, Nouakchott, will observe voting, counting and the compilation of results.

EU EOMs are an important instrument for enhancing transparency and building confidence in the democratic process of a country and are deployed in line with the EU's commitment to promote democracy, human rights and the respect for the rule of law. EU election observation missions are independent and professional, and, for this reason, their findings are widely accepted as credible and trustworthy. The European Commission is making available €2.9 million to meet the costs of this mission, including the programmed observation mission for the Presidential elections of March 2007.

As regards the electoral process, the European Commission is also contributing €6 million under the 9th FED to the organisation and supervision of the elections.

Further information on the EU's human rights and democratisation policy and EU Election Assistance & Observation is available on the following website:
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/projects/eidhr/index_en.htm

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