Observer Mission to the 2004 Mozambique Presidential and National Assembly Elections

Press Release

EISA launches its Regional Election Observer Mission to the Mozambican Presidential and Parliamentary Elections to be held 1-2 December 2004. The mission will be led by Dr Brigalia H Bam, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa with Mr Denis Kadima, EISA Executive Director as Deputy Mission Leader. The 35 members of the mission will be drawn from civil society organisations, election management bodies, political parties and academic institutions from SADC countries, namely Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

These elections will be the fifth electoral process where the election will be assessed using the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO). PEMMO was adopted in November 2003 by the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC countries (ECF) and EISA. These principles were adopted are the result of a process of consultation with all the 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 will arrive in Mozambique on the 23rd November. In the days before the elections members of the mission will meet with various electoral stakeholders in all the regions including political parties, civil society organisations and the electoral commission. The mission will remain in the country until the 5th of December observing the voting and counting processes as well as post-polling activities. The mission will cover all eleven administrative districts of the country.

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.