ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, November 23, 2015/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has approved the deployment of the African Union Short-Term Observation (STO) Mission to the 29 November 2015 General Elections in Burkina Faso, following an official invitation of the Government. The STOs will arrive in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 21 November 2015 and will remain in the country until 05 December 2015.
The African Union Electoral Observation Mission (AUEOM) will be led by H.E Jean Omer Beriziky, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Madagascar. The mission comprises Sixty (60) Short Term Observers (STOs) from the Pan African Parliament, the Permanent Representative Committee (PRC) of the African Union, election management bodies, civil society organizations, think tanks, media and academic institutions.They will be deployed throughout the electoral constituencies of the country to monitor the electoral process and to consult with key stakeholders involved in the electoral process including government and electoral officials, candidates and political parties, civil society representatives and media to provide a critical assessment of the conduct of election.
The Mission has the mandate to observe the General Elections in line with relevant African Union and international instruments comprising the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, the African Union Guidelines for Election Observation and Monitoring Missions, the International Covenant on Civil Political Rights (ICCPR), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the 2005 Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation to which the AU is a signatory and the national laws of Burkina Faso. The Mission shall contribute to the reinforcement of the democratization process in Burkina Faso by providing an objective, independent and impartial assessment of the conduct of the elections in line with the aforementioned international and regional best practices and standards.
