FIONA PRESENTS FINAL REPORT OF EU ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION IN MOZAMBIQUE

12.00.00am GMT Wed 17th Feb 2010

Members of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) who observed the presidential, legislative and provincial elections which took place on 28 October 2009 have returned to Mozambique to present their final report. The report contains a detailed analysis of the elections and an assessment of a number of areas including the legal framework, the performance of the electoral administration, the campaign environment and media coverage.

The report's main findings are that election day was very well managed and the electoral campaign was constructive. However, transparency shortcomings and a degree of constraint with regard to political activity and voter choice at a local level were noted. The EU EOM also deplored certain irregularities which occurred during the tabulation process. Twenty-five key recommendations to improve the electoral process are set out in the report for consideration by the Government of Mozambique, the Electoral Commission and other stakeholders.

The Chief Observer of the EU EOM, Fiona Hall, who is a Member of the European Parliament, stated:

"It was a great honour to be the Chief Observer of the EU EOM to Mozambique and to have had the opportunity to observe a very important political moment in the lives of the Mozambican people. I would like to thank all of the stakeholders here in Mozambique for their cooperation and openness. We are delighted to present this report on the recent elections as it brings together the findings of all our observations over the two and a half month period that we were here in Mozambique.

"As in any system for elections there are always some areas that can be improved and we have offered a series of recommendations at the end of our report for consideration by the authorities. A workshop will be held on 17-18 February where participants, including government and electoral officials, political parties, civil society organisations, academics, EU Member states and the donor community will discuss the EU EOM recommendations and areas for reform."

The EU EOM was present in Mozambique from 22 September to 21 November 2009 at the invitation of the Mozambican government. The mission deployed 131 observers from 24 EU member states, plus Canada, Norway and Switzerland as associated states. The observers, based in every province, assessed the electoral process against international and regional standards for elections as well as in relation to the laws of Mozambique. The EU EOM is independent in its findings and conclusions and adheres to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation adopted at the United Nations in October2005. The EU EOM final report is available at http://www.eueom-mozambique.eu/EN/Final_Report.html.