EISA Observer Mission to the 2004 Botswana Parliamentary and Local Elections

Press release

EISA launches its regional Election observer Mission for the upcoming General Elections due to be held in Botswana on 30 October 2004. Leading the delegation will be Honourable Nthloi Motsamai, Speaker of the Lesotho National Assembly. The mission will be composed of 20 members drawn from civil society organisations, election management bodies and academic institutions from various SADC countries, namely Swaziland, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The 2004 Botswana Elections will be the third electoral process where the assessment of the election will be based on the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO) recently adopted by the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC countries (SADC ECF) and EISA. It should be recalled that these principles were adopted in November 2003 and resulted from a process of consultation with all Electoral Commissions in the SADC region as well as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) who work in the elections field. PEMMO gives the region an objective basis in terms of which to conduct and assess elections.

The mission is expected to arrive in Botswana on 24 October 2004 in order to hold a series of meetings with election stakeholders, including Botswana Electoral Commission, (BEC), political parties, CSO's and academics, ahead of the election day. The mission will remain in the country until 2 November 2004 after observing the voting and counting processes as well as post-polling activities. The mission will cover selected rural and urban areas in the Northern, Southern and Central regions of Botswana.

EISA is a regional non-governmental organisation established in 1996, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Its mission is to strengthen electoral processes, good governance, human rights and democratic values in the SADC region and beyond through research, capacity building, advocacy and other targeted interventions. EISA services governments, electoral commissions, political parties, civil society organisations and other institutions operating in the democracy and governance fields in the SADC region and beyond.