EU election observers commence their activities

“It is a great pleasure to be here in Sri Lenka and lead the European Union Election Observation Mission to this country,” Cristian Preda, a Romanian member of the European Parliament said today (21).

Following an invitation from the Commissioner of Elections of Sri Lanka, the European Union has established a mission to observe the forth coming Parliamentary elections scheduled for 17 August 2015. Cristian Preda is the Chief Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Sri Lanka which will comprise over 70 observers from different EU countries, as well as Norway and Switzerland. 

“I hope that our presence will contribute to the efforts of the Sri Lankan authorities and civil society for a strengthened democratic process”, said Preda.

The observers of EU EOM to Sri Lanka will be deployed to all nine provinces, N where they will be meeting government and electoral officials, candidates and representatives from political parties. They will also meet with civil society and the media. 

They will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the electoral process based on a long-term observation and a methodology developed by the EU over many years. This analysis will include aspects such as the legal framework, the work of the election administration, the role of State institutions and civil society, the campaign activities, the conduct of the media, the voting and the counting, the complaints and appeals process and the announcement of the results.

The purpose of this mission, independent from any EU institutions or State members, is to offer an impartial assessment of the elections according to the Sri Lanka law, as well as to the international and regional standards for democratic elections, and to prepare technical recommendations as a contribution for the debate on electoral reform. 

The EU EOM will issue a preliminary statement shortly after the election day and a final report will be published later. 

The members of the mission will remain neutral and abide by the EU election observation code of conduct and Sri Lanka laws.

EU-EOM’s Objectives:

1. To support the democratic process
2. To strengthen respect for human rights and rule of law
3. To deter malpractice and to enhance public confidence in the electoral process
4. To make recommendations to help improve future electoral processes

EU-EOM’s Mandate:

1. To observer all aspects of the electoral process prior to, during and after the polling, which entail:
2. The legal framework and its implementation
3. I Performance of the election administration, performance of the state institutions; abuse of state resources
4. Voter registration and candidate registration
5. Overall environment, respect for civil and political rights, legal protection for the stakeholders
6. Performance of the media, equitable coverage of the state media
7. Campaign activities of the candidates and political parties, fundamental freedoms
8. The role of the civil society