Introduction

The European Commission has deployed an EU Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Sierra Leone for the elections scheduled to take place on 11 August 2007. A Chief Observer, Marie Anne Isler Béguin, who is a Member of the European Parliament, leads the Mission.

A core team of election experts arrived in Freetown at the beginning of July and will be shortly followed by long term observers, who shall be deployed throughout the country observing key aspects of the run up to election day, election day itself and the tabulation of results.  A group of short term observers will also complement the core team and long term observers for the period immediately prior to and including polling day to observe the voting and counting process.

The mission’s general mandate is to assess elections against international principles on genuine elections. The EU EOM will work independently to fulfill its mandate to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the electoral process and to offer an impartial, balanced and informed analysis of the elections. EU observers will be deployed across Sierra Leone. This observation work is an important component of the European Union’s policy of promoting human rights and democratization throughout the world. The EU EOM to Sierra Leone will remain in country until the completion and finalisation of the electoral process.

The EU EOM will undertake its comprehensive assessment of the election process in accordance with international standards and principles for genuine democratic elections, and operated in accordance with the “Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation”, adopted by a number of international bodies involved in election observation in October 2005 at the United Nations in New York.