A Commonwealth Observer Group will be deployed to observe Lesotho’s National Assembly Elections scheduled for 28 February 2015.
A Commonwealth Observer Group will be deployed to observe Lesotho’s National Assembly Elections scheduled for 28 February 2015. The Observer Group will be led by the former President of Botswana, HE Festus Mogae.
The Group was constituted by Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma at the invitation of the Independent Electoral Commission of Lesotho.
“The Commonwealth has a long history of political engagement with Lesotho, and is pleased to deploy observers to these very important elections,” the Secretary-General said. “We hope that their presence will signal the Commonwealth’s enduring support to the people of Lesotho, as they chart a path out of the recent political challenges and towards the consolidation of durable democracy.”
The Commonwealth Observer Group’s mandate is to observe the preparations for the elections, polling, counting and the results processes, as well as the overall electoral environment. The Group will make an assessment of the conduct of the process as a whole and, where appropriate, make recommendations for strengthening future electoral processes in Lesotho.
The Group will determine in its own judgement whether the elections have been conducted according to the standards for democratic elections to which Lesotho has committed itself, with reference to national election-related legislation and relevant regional, Commonwealth and other international commitments.
The Group is expected to act impartially and independently, and will conduct itself according to the standards expressed in the International Declaration of Principles for Election Observation, to which the Commonwealth is a signatory.
The Group’s report will be submitted to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who will in turn share it with the Government of Lesotho, the Independent Electoral Commission of Lesotho, political parties, and then with all Commonwealth governments.
The Commonwealth Observer Group comprises seven eminent persons and will be supported by a Commonwealth Secretariat staff team led by Ms Yvonne Apea-Mensah, Adviser and Head of Africa Section in the Political Division. The team arrived in Lesotho on 17 February and is expected to stay in the country until 7 March 2015.
The Group members are:
HE Festus Mogae (Chair)
Former President of the Republic of Botswana
Dr Rosemary Husbands-Mathurin
Head of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission Services Unit & former Speaker of the House of Assembly
Saint Lucia
Bob Patterson
Former Chief Electoral Officer - British Columbia
Canada
Dr Samuel Kale Ewusi
Director, Africa Programme, United Nations University for Peace
Cameroon
Maryan Street
Former Minister of Housing & Member of Parliament
New Zealand
Puja Bajad
Youth Expert
India
Crystal Orderson
Journalist
South Africa