AFRICAN UNION APPROVES ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION IN 3 WEST AFRICAN NATIONS

The African Union has officially approved the mandate of a team of the African Union Election Observer Mission to 3 West African nations who are due to hold elections this year.

Sierra Leone will hold its elections on 17 November 2012 while Burkina Faso will hold its own on 2^nd December 2012 and Ghana will be the last as election takes place on the 7^th of December 2012.

The Commission, through its Democracy and Electoral Assistance Unit of the Department of Political Affairs, has concluded plans as mandated by the Commission for the deployment of the AU-EOM to the above mentioned countries on the following slated dates.

The team going to Sierra Leone will arrive in the capital Freetown on the 11^th of November to the 24^th of November 2012.

Ouagadougou will welcome their team on the 24^th of November to the 7^th of December to monitor the process in Burkina Faso.

Ghana, a relatively calm and widely regarded as a beacon of democracy in Africa will see the African Union Election Observer Mission in Accra on the 7^th of December till the 14^th of December, 2012.

The African Union will have to extend the observers mission if voting in this countries did not produce a first round victory and a second round is needed.

Ghana is case study of this as it is synonymous of second round voting as a result of no candidate obtaining the required 50% mandated by the constitution on three occasions.

There were 3 rounds of voting in Ghana in the elections held in 2008 in Ghana before John Atta Mills won and became president then.

The AU-EOM draws its mandate from various African Union instruments and most importantly the: - AU Guidelines on African Union Election Observation and Monitoring Missions, 2002 - The OUA/AU Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, 2002 - African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, 1981 and - African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), 2007.

The Observer Mission consist of former Heads of States, Ambassadors, members of election management bodies and other selected and trained observers from civil society organizations in Africa. The composition of each mission draws from the different region of Africa and comprises forty 40 observers to each of the respective countries.

They will remain in Constance interactions with the headquarters in Addis Ababa and will finalized their mission with a comprehensive report on the election they observed in respective mandated country.