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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Expert Team to observe Sri Lanka Presidential Election

9 November 2005

A Commonwealth Expert Team, which has been sent by Secretary-General Don McKinnon for the Sri Lanka Presidential Election, begins work on 9 November 2005. The team will be led by Hon Cassam Uteem, former President of Mauritius. The other experts are:

Ms Cynthia Barrow-Giles
Head of Department of Government, Sociology & Social Work
University of West Indies
Barbados

Mr Feroz Hassan
Secretary-General of the Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (FEMA)
Bangladesh       

Senator Diana Mahabir-Wyatt
Chair of Trinidad and Tobago Coalition against Domestic Violence
Trinidad and Tobago

Mrs Martha Sayed
Deputy Secretary
Independent Election Commission
Botswana

Mr Karamjit Singh CBE
Electoral Commissioner
Electoral Commission
UK.

 

The experts will be assisted by a staff support team led by Ms Adaora Ikenze, Political Affairs Adviser in the Political Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The experts will be briefed in the capital, Colombo, by the Commissioner of Elections, representatives of the Presidential candidates and their parties, Commonwealth diplomats, international and domestic observers, representatives of civil society and state and private media.

The decision to send the Commonwealth Expert Team follows an invitation from the Commissioner of Elections. 

Note to Editors:

The Expert Team's Terms of Reference are as follows, 'The Commonwealth Expert Team for the Sri Lanka Presidential Election shall observe the preparations for the election; the polling, counting and results process; and the overall electoral environment'.

The Commonwealth observed the Parliamentary Elections in Sri Lanka in October 2000 and in May 2004.

For media enquiries please contact Adora Ikenze on Mobile:  +94-71 3046220 or +94-11 249 2359.

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