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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth To Send Observers To Fiji Islands

13 August 2001

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon announced today that he has appointed a Commonwealth Observer Group for the Fiji Islands, where a General Election is to take place from 25 August to 5 September 2001.

The five confirmed members of the Observer Group are:

Chair Sir Henry Forde QC MP, Former Foreign Minister and Attorney-General, Barbados

Mrs Jeannette Bolenga, Principal Electoral Officer, Vanuatu

Mr Reuben Kaiulo, Electoral Commissioner, Papua New Guinea

Mr Bandula Kulatunga, Former Deputy Commissioner of Elections, Sri Lanka

Hon Margareth Mensah MP, Vice-Chairperson, National Council, Namibia

Confirmation is awaited from one other person. The Secretary-General expressed his pleasure that Sir Henry Forde QC MP has agreed to chair the Observer Group. "These are very important elections for the people of the Fiji Islands and I know that Sir Henry's considerable political experience will be of great value to the Group in its work".

Mr McKinnon said that Commonwealth Observers had been invited by the Interim Government of the Fiji Islands and that an Assessment Mission had consulted the political parties.

The six observers will be supported by six staff from the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Note to Editors
The Fiji Islands are currently suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth following the overthrow of its democratically elected government last year. This will be the first time that the Commonwealth will have observed elections in the Fiji Islands. It is the 34th Commonwealth Observer Group since October 1990.

Sir Henry Forde was Foreign Minister and Attorney-General from 1979 to 1981 and was again a member of the Barbados Cabinet in 1983. He has been a Member of Parliament for thirty years and has held numerous positions in international organisations. In 1998 he chaired a Special CARICOM Group which sought to help resolve political problems in Guyana following the elections of the previous year.
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