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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth to observe Parliamentary and Presidential elections in Mozambique

17 November 1999

Ten Commonwealth Observers, together with a support team from the Commonwealth Secretariat, will be present in Mozambique for the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections which are to be held on 3 and 4 December 1999.

Making the announcement today, Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku said that the Commonwealth was responding to a request from Mozambique's National Elections Commission. An Assessment Mission from the Commonwealth Secretariat which visited Mozambique earlier this month established that there was broad support for the presence of Commonwealth Observers during the elections.

The Commonwealth Observer Group will be led byMr Brandford Taitt, the former Foreign Minister of Barbados. The other Observers will be:

Mr S M Kivuitu
Chairman, Electoral Commission, Kenya

Mr Denis Marshall
Member of Parliament, New Zealand

Alhaji Adamu Bawa Mu'azu
Secretary, Independent National Electoral Commission, Nigeria

Mr P Alan Nazareth
Former diplomat, India

Ms Teresa Nyarko-Fofie
Member of Parliament, Ghana

Ms Balbina Daes Pienaar
President, Association of Local Authorities, Namibia

Ms Anamah Tan
President, Singapore Council of Women's Organisations

Mr John Turner
Chairman, Association of Electoral Administrators, United Kingdom

Ms Jo-Ann Waugh
Assistant Chief Electoral Officer, Yukon, Canada

The Group will be supported by a six-member team from the Commonwealth Secretariat, led by Mr Richard Nzerem, Director, Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division.

Note to Editors:
This will be the 29th Commonwealth Observer Group since October 1990 and the first to have been sent to Mozambique. Other elections have been observed recently in South Africa (June 1999), Antigua and Barbuda (March 1999) and Nigeria (February 1999). Commonwealth Observer Groups are to be seen in the context of a decision taken by Commonwealth Heads of Government to support the promotion of democracy in a number of ways, including through observation, on request, of elections in member states.

Issued by the Information and Public Affairs Division,
Commonwealth Secretariat,
Marlborough House,
Pall Mall,
London SW1Y 5HX,
United Kingdom.
Tel: 0207-839 3411;
Fax: 0207-839 9081;
Telex: 27678

99/70 17 November 1999
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ISSUED BY THE COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION
Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7747 6385/6 Fax: +44 (0)20 7839 9081
Email: info@commonwealth.int