Introduction

The European Commission has deployed an EU Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Guinea-Bissau for the Early Presidential Election on 28 June 2009. Guinea-Bissau will hold a second round of presidential elections on the 26 July since none of the principal three candidates secured more than 50 percent of the vote.

A Chief Observer, Johan Van Hecke, who is a Member of the European Parliament, leads the Mission.

A core team of four election experts from different EU member states arrived in Bissau on 6 June to set up and co-ordinate the mission. The core team analyses political, electoral and legal issues and is supported by logistical and security experts.

The mission consists of 21 observers from 14 different EU member states. Six long-term observers have been working in regions across Guinea-Bissau since the beginning of June observing key aspects of the run up to Election Day, Election Day itself and the tabulation of results. They observe the electoral process in their area and report back to the core team in Bissau. A group of ten short-term observers has joined the mission shortly before the elections.  On Election Day they have observed voting and counting in polling stations throughout the country.

The mission’s general mandate is to assess elections against international principles on genuine elections. The EU EOM will work independently to fulfill its mandate to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the electoral process and to offer an impartial, balanced and informed analysis of the elections. This observation work is an important component of the European Union’s policy of promoting human rights and democratization throughout the world.

The EU EOM to Guinea-Bissau will remain in country until the completion and finalization of the electoral process. The EU EOM will undertake its comprehensive assessment of the election process in accordance with international standards and principles for genuine democratic elections, and operated in accordance with the “Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation”, adopted by a number of international bodies involved in election observation in October 2005 at the United Nations in New York.