Addis Ababa, 16 April 2015: As the Togolese Republic and the Republic of Benin prepares for their presidential and parliamentary elections to be held on 25th and 26th April 2015 respectively, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Her Excellency Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has approved the deployment of African Union Election Observation Missions (AUEOM) to Togo and Benin.
The AUEOM’s in Togo will be led by H.E Kabiné Komara, former Prime Minster of the Republic of Guinea while the AUEOM for the Republic of Benin will be led by H.E Dioncounda Traoré, former Interim President of the Republic of Mali.
The two (2) Missions comprise short-term observers from AU Member States. Observers will be deployed throughout the countries to follow the electoral process and to meet with government and electoral officials, candidates and political parties, civil society representatives and media in order to provide a critical assessment of the conduct of the elections.
The AUEOM’s has a mandate to observe and report on the election process in Togo and Benin in line with relevant AU instruments on democracy and elections, such as the 2007 African Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance, the 2002 OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa and the 2002 AU Guidelines for Election Observation and Monitoring Missions, as well as international best practices and standards. The AUEOM to the two countries will make an independent, impartial and objective assessment of the processes and determine if the elections in the two countries are conducted in line international and regional best practices and standards on democratic elections.
For more information, please contact the Coordinators:
Ms Karine Kakasi Siaba: Kakasik@africa-union.org for Togo
Mr. Guy Cyrille Tapoko: Tapokog@africa-union.org for Benin
Democracy and Electoral Assistance Unit
Political Affairs Department
African Union Commission
Directorate of Information and Communication Directorate of Information and Communication | Information and Communication | African Union Commission
Tel: +251-11-5517700 | Fax: | E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org | Web:www.au.int
Addis Ababa | Ethiopia