Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma today announced that the Commonwealth will observe the 19 November, 2014 polls in Solomon Islands.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma today announced that the Commonwealth will observe the 19 November 2014 polls in Solomon Islands.
Mr Sharma said the Commonwealth Observer Group to the 2014 Solomon Islands General Elections will be led by Sir Mekere Morauta, former Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. The deployment of observers follows an invitation from Solomon Islands Electoral Commission.
“All Commonwealth citizens worldwide including the people of Solomon Islands have the right to participate in free and fair elections in order to shape the society they wish to live in. November 19 is a day when Solomon Islanders should be able to exercise their right to vote freely and peacefully,” the Secretary-General said.
“The elections must be peaceful and credible in order to reflect the true will of the people of Solomon Islands. All concerned – the election management body, political party leaders and their supporters, security agencies, the media, civil society and the voters themselves should play their rightful roles on election day so that the process and results command the confidence and trust of all,” Mr Sharma said.
The Group will consider the pre-electoral environment and preparations. On election day and thereafter, it will observe the voting process, counting and tabulation procedures and the announcement of results, in light of international standards for democratic elections to which the country has committed itself.
In doing its work, the Group will 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.
At the end of its mission, the Commonwealth Observer Group will submit its report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who will in turn send it to the Government of Solomon Islands, the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission, political parties, Commonwealth governments, and the public.
The Observers will be in Solomon Islands from 11 to 29 November 2014. They will be supported by a Secretariat team, led by Albert Mariner, Head of Caribbean and Pacific Section of the Political Division.
"The Commonwealth is committed to the people of Solomon Islands and will continue to work to strengthen the country's democratic processes and the pursuit of its development goals in accordance with national plans and the Commonwealth’s guiding values and principles as set out in the Commonwealth Charter, and working closely with the country’s other partners," the Secretary-General concluded.
The full composition of the Commonwealth Observer Group is:
Chair:
Sir Mekere Morauta
Former Prime Minister, Papua New Guinea
Senator Linda Reynolds
Member of Parliament, Australia
Mr David Lambourne
Legal Expert, Kiribati
Mr Aiman Rasheed
Project Coordinator, Transparency Maldives, Maldives
Mr John Hayes
Politician and Diplomat, New Zealand
Mrs Lydia Faisal
Lawyer, and Human Rights Expert, Saint Lucia
Mr Leiataualesa Daryl Clarke
Former Assistant Attorney General, Samoa
Mr Hendrick Gappy
Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Seychelles
Ms Ofa Guttenbeil
Gender Expert, Tonga
Ms Jessica Babihuga Nkuuhe
Gender and Conflict Resolution Expert, Uganda
Vera Baird
Former Solicitor General of England and Wales, United Kingdom
Note to Editors:
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