ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, March 18, 2016/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 20 March 2016 First Round Presidential Election in the Republic of Congo. The STOs in Brazzaville, Congo, since 15 March 2015, will remain in the country until the 24th March 2015.
His Excellency Dileita Mohamed Dileita, Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Djibouti, leads the African Union Electoral Observation Mission (AUEOM). The mission comprises thirty (30) Short Term Observers (STOs) from AU Member States and will be deployed throughout the country to follow the electoral process and to meet with 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’s mandate is to observe the Presidential Election in line with relevant African Union and international instruments such as 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 the Republic of Congo. The Mission shall provide an objective, independent and impartial assessment of the conduct of the elections in line with the aforementioned international and regional best practices and standards.
