Introduction

The European Commission has decided to deploy an Election Observation Mission to the Republic of Rwanda following an invitation by the Rwandan authorities. It will be observing the parliamentary election scheduled for 15 - 18 September 2008.

The Mission is headed by Chief Observer Michael Cashman, a British member of the European Parliament.

The Chief Observer has a Core Team of eight election experts who arrived in Kigali on 19 July 2008. 17 Long-term Observers (LTOs) were deployed throughout the country on 1 August 2008 and they are following the different phases of the election campaign: the organisation of the elections, the voting and the post electoral period. Some 50 Short-term Observers (STOs) will be deployed a few days before the elections to observe the days of voting, the counting and tabulation process, and the publication of the results.

A delegation representing the European Parliament will also be joining the Mission shortly before the elections.

The Chief Observer and the core team will use the reports submitted by the observers and other relevant information to analyse the different sectors pertaining to elections such as the work of the election administration, the legal framework, the campaign, the role of the media and other election related issues. The work of the EU EOM is based on the Declaration of principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Election Observation (New York, 27 October 2005).

The Chief Observer will present a preliminary statement to the public within 48 hours of the close of the polls.

A Final Report will be issued will be issued approximately a month later. This will be more extensive and detailed analysis of the electoral process and will, if necessary, include a number of recommendations in view of improving certain aspect of the electoral process.