EISA Regional Observer Mission to the Zambia 2008 Presidential Election
Arrival Statement
24 October 2008
EISA is pleased to announce the official launch of its Election Observer Mission to the Presidential and Mwansabombwe and Ndola Central Parliamentary By-Elections in Zambia scheduled for Thursday, 30 October 2008. The Mission, which is led by Mr Leshele Thoahlane, Chairperson of the EISA Board of Directors and Former Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission of Lesotho, is present in the country at the invitation extended by the Electoral Commission of Zambia. Ms Ilona Tip, EISA's Director of Operations, is the Deputy Mission Leader.
The EISA Mission consists of 20 members from different African countries, namely Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.
The overall objective of the Mission is in line with EISA's vision of An African continent where democratic governance, human rights and citizen participation are upheld in a peaceful environment.
Specific objectives for this mission include the following:
- To assess whether conditions exist for the conduct of elections that allow the people of Zambia to freely express their will;
- To assess and determine whether the elections are conducted in accordance with the constitutional and legal framework for elections in Zambia;
- To determine whether the final results of the electoral process as a whole reflect the wishes of the people of Zambia;
- To assess whether the elections meet the benchmarks set out in the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO), developed under the auspices of EISA and the Electoral Commissions Forum (ECF) of SADC countries. These principles were officially adopted in South Africa on 6 November 2003 and launched in Zambia on 24 March 2006.
To assess the elections, the Mission will hold a series of meetings with election stakeholders, including the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), presidential candidates, CSOs, security forces, academics and the voters, ahead of Election Day.
On Sunday, 26 October 2008, EISA will deploy teams to provinces in selected rural and urban areas. On Election Day, 30 October 2008, the EISA teams will observe the voting and counting processes. On Saturday, 1st November 2008, all teams will reconvene in Lusaka where an interim statement expressing the Mission's preliminary views and recommendations on the elections will be issued. The principles enshrined in the PEMMO will be taken into account to direct the Mission's observations on the polling and results processes, as well as the electoral environment as a whole. The EISA Mission will closely monitor post-polling activities.
The Mission undertakes to co-operate closely with the Zambian electoral stakeholders and other observers, and strives to act with impartiality, objectivity and independence.
EISA is a regional non-profit organisation established in 1996 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with field offices in the DRC (Kinshasa), Mozambique (Maputo), Madagascar (Antananarivo), Sudan (Karthoum) and Cote d'Ivoire (Abidjan). EISA strives for excellence in the promotion of credible elections, participatory democracy, human rights culture, and the strengthening of governance institutions for the consolidation of democracy in Africa. EISA services electoral commissions, political parties, civil society organizations, governments and other institutions operating in the democracy and governance fields in Africa.
The EISA Mission Secretariat is based at the Intercontinental Hotel, Lusaka and can be contacted at the following number:
Dr Lucien Toulou, Mission Co-ordinator, on +260978063905
Abel Leshele Thoahlane
Mission Leader