Secretary-General announces members of Commonwealth Observer Group for Zimbabwe Presidential Election, 22 February 2002
22 February 2002
Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has announced that the main body of Commonwealth Observers for the Zimbabwe Presidential Election will arrive in Harare today and begin work tomorrow, 23 February 2002.The Secretary-General said that the Observer Group had been established in response to an invitation from the Government of Zimbabwe and with the support of the main political parties in the country. There will be 45 observers: 33 eminent Commonwealth citizens and 12 Commonwealth Secretariat staff.
An Advance Group of Commonwealth Observers - from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Guyana, Kenya and Namibia - has been observing in Zimbabwe since Monday 11 February 2002. They were supported by a group of Commonwealth Secretariat staff who were accredited the previous week.
An Arrival Statement by the Chair of the Commonwealth Observer Group, former Nigerian Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, will be issued at 10.00 am on Sunday 24 February 2002. Copies may be obtained from the Commonwealth Observer Group office in the Livingstone Room at the Meikles Hotel, Harare, telephone number +263 4 707721.
The eminent Commonwealth citizens in the Commonwealth Observer Group will be as follows:
General A A Abubakar GCFR CSG (Chair)
Former Head of State
Nigeria
Mr M M Munsef Ali
Member, Election Commission
Bangladesh
Dato Syed Ariff Fadzillah Syed Awaluddin
Former ambassador
Malaysia
Pastor Sione Ausage
Council Member
National Youth Council
Samoa
Mr John Babalu
Chief Electoral Officer
Solomon Islands
Ms Julie Bishop MP
Member, Federal Parliament
Australia
Ms Kalila Chellah-Kunda
Executive Director
Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP)
Zambia
Dr Gaositwe Chiepe
Former Foreign Minister
Botswana
Mr William Chin See QC
Former Chairman
Electoral Advisory Committee
Jamaica
Dr Leith Dunn
Lecturer
University of the West Indies
Jamaica
Mr Ray Ekpu
Chief Executive
Newswatch
Nigeria
Hon Mario Galea
Member, House of Representatives
Malta
Ms Grace Githu
Executive Director
Institute for Education in Democracy
Kenya
Mr Ron Gould CM
Former Deputy Chief Electoral Officer
Canada
Mr Bill Gray AM
Former Electoral Commissioner
Australia
Justice James B. Kalaile
Chairman
Electoral Commission
Malawi
Mr Vinod Khanna
Member of Parliament
India
Mr S M Kivuitu
Chairman
Electoral Commission
Kenya
Mr T S Krishnamurthy
Member, Election Commission
India
Mr Christopher Laidlaw
Former High Commissioner to Zimbabwe
New Zealand
Mr Serake Leeuw
Member SA Local Government Association Executive Committee,
Mayor of Matjhabeng (Free State) and former MP
South Africa
Ms Jocelyn Lucas
Elections expert
Trinidad and Tobago
Hon Lindiwe Maseko
Deputy Speaker
Gauteng Provincial Legislature
South Africa
Hon Margareth Mensah
Vice-Chair, National Council
Namibia
Mr Bruce Middleton
Former High Commissioner to Zimbabwe
New Zealand
Dr Antonio Muacorica
Member, Comissao Nacional de Eleiçoes
Mozambique
Ms Mulako Mwanamwalye
Chair, Commonwealth Youth Caucus
Zambia
Hon Comfort Owusu MP
Member of Parliament
Ghana
Dr Rupert Roopnaraine
Leader, Working People's Alliance and former MP
Guyana
Mr B A Sekhonyana
Chair
Interim Political Authority
Lesotho
Mrs Melba Smith
General Manager
Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation
Barbados
Mr Asram Soleyn
President, National Youth Council
St Vincent & the Grenadines
Mr William Warden
Former diplomat
Canada
Note to Editors
The Terms of Reference for this Observer Group are as follows:
"The Group is established by the Commonwealth Secretary-General at the invitation of the Government of Zimbabwe. It is to observe relevant aspects of the organisation and conduct of the Presidential Election in accordance with the laws of Zimbabwe. It is to consider the various factors impinging on the credibility of the electoral process as a whole and to determine in its own judgement whether the conditions exist for a free expression of will by the electors and if the results of the election reflect the wishes of the people of Zimbabwe.
The Group is to act impartially and independently. It has no executive role; its function is not to supervise but to observe the process as a whole and to form a judgement accordingly. It would also be free to propose to the authorities concerned such action on institutional, procedural and other matters as would assist the holding of such elections.
The Group is to submit its report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who will forward it to the Government of Zimbabwe, the leadership of the political parties taking part in the election and thereafter to all Commonwealth governments".
This will be the 37th Observer Group to have been constituted by the Secretary-General since October 1990. It will be the third time that the Commonwealth will have observed elections in Zimbabwe: Commonwealth Observer Groups were present for the June 2000 Parliamentary Elections and the February 1980 elections which followed the Lancaster House Agreement.
02/12 22 February 2002
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