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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Observers for Pakistan poll

26 September 2002

Dato' Tan Sri Musa bin Hitam, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, will lead the Commonwealth Observer Group which will be present in Pakistan for the National and Provincial Elections scheduled for 10 October 2002.

Announcing this today, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said that he had appointed "an eminent Commonwealth citizen to lead this very important Observer Group. The elections in Pakistan mark a critical stage in the country's return to democracy."

The Observer Group has been constituted in response to invitations from the Government and the Election Commission of Pakistan. It is charged with determining in its own judgement whether the conditions exist for a free expression of will by the electors and if the results of the elections reflect the wishes of the people.

An Advance Group of three eminent Commonwealth citizens and one Commonwealth Secretariat staff member has been in Pakistan since 9 September. The whole Group will have arrived in the capital, Islamabad, by 29 September. After initial briefings there they will deploy across the country, returning to the capital after the results process to write their Report.
The Observers - drawn from 18 countries but serving in their individual capacities - will be as follows:

Dato' Tan Sri Musa bin Hitam (Chairperson)
Former Deputy Prime Minister
Malaysia

Dr D N Acha-Morfaw
Vice-President
National Elections Observatory
Cameroon

Mr Richard Bourne
Chair of the Trustee Committee of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
and Head of the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit, University of London, United Kingdom
Prof Dilara Choudhury
Professor of Political Science
Jahangirnagar University
Bangladesh

Mr David Connolly AM
Former Parliamentarian and High Commissioner to South Africa
Australia

Dr Nemata Eshun-Baiden
Former Chairperson, 50/50 Group
Sierra Leone


Ms Michelle Falardeau
Former Chief Commissioner
Human Rights Commission
Canada

Mr Hugh Garland
Deputy Chief Election Officer
New Zealand

Mr Charles Gregoire
Vice-President, Caribbean Association of Local Government Authorities and
Chair, Local Government Association
Dominica

Mr Selwyn Jones
Supervisor of Elections
St Vincent and the Grenadines

Mr M M Rezaul Karim
Former High Commissioner and Secretary to Government
Bangladesh

Hon Douglas Kidd
Former Speaker and Cabinet Minister
New Zealand

Ms Veronic Kofie
Head of International Affairs
Trade Union Council
Ghana

Mr R I C Kuruppu
Consultant to the Department of Elections
Sri Lanka

Hon Leroy McClean
Senator
Barbados

Ms Michelle Meredith
Former President of
'Women in Business'
Samoa

Mr Mohamed Mokhtar bin Ahmed
State Election Officer for Penang
Malaysia

Dr Helen Nkandi-Shiimi
Vice-President of the African Union of Local Authorities and President of
the Association for Local Authorities
Namibia

Mr Joe Billy Oge
Interim Chairman
National Youth Council
Solomon Islands

Ms Diana Organ MP
Member of Parliament
United Kingdom

Mr M I Abdool Rahman
Electoral Commissioner
Mauritius

Mr Walter Rigamoto
Supervisor of Elections
Fiji Islands



The Observers will be supported by a 10-strong staff team from the Commonwealth Secretariat led by Mr Jon Sheppard, Director of Political Affairs.
Note to Editors: Pakistan's democratically-elected government was removed by the military in 1999. The country was subsequently suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth.

This will be the 40th Observer Group to have been constituted by the Commonwealth Secretary-General since October 1990 and the third time that the Commonwealth will have observed National and Provincial Assembly Elections in Pakistan - Commonwealth Observer Groups were present for the elections in 1993 and 1997.

For media enquiries, please contact Joel Kibazo, Director, Communications and Public Affairs Division, on 07740 450901 or +44 (0)20 7747 6385/6.
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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
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