Team led by Frederick Mitchell, former Foreign Affairs Minister for The Bahamas
A Commonwealth Expert Team has issued an interim statement on the presidential election in Cameroon, which took place on 9 October 2011.
The Team was constituted at the invitation of the Minister of External Relations of Cameroon.
The Team of six experts, supported by a four-member staff team from the Commonwealth Secretariat, is led by Frederick Mitchell MP, former Foreign Affairs Minister for The Bahamas.
The mandate of the Team is to observe the preparations for the election; the polling, counting and results process; and the overall electoral environment. It is to assess the overall conduct of the process and make appropriate recommendations for the future strengthening of the electoral process in Cameroon.
The Team arrived in Yaoundé on 3 October 2011.
The full composition of the Commonwealth Expert Team is as follows:
Fred Mitchell (Chair)
Former Foreign Minister
The Bahamas
Gabrielle Giroday
Journalist
Winnipeg Free Press
Canada
Samuel Tembenu
Lawyer and former President, Malawi Law Society
Malawi
Irfan Abdool Rahman
Electoral Commissioner
Mauritius
Ambassador Bariyu Adekunle Adeyemi
Former Diplomat
Nigeria
Dr Tumelontle Thiba
Provincial Electoral Officer
North West Province
South Africa
The Commonwealth Secretariat support staff team is led by Linford Andrews, Political Affairs Officer in the Political Affairs Division.
The Commonwealth observed the 1997 Presidential Elections and the 2002 Municipal and Legislative Elections in Cameroon. The Commonwealth also observed the 2004 Presidential Elections. A Commonwealth Assessment Team was present for the 2007 Parliamentary Elections.
Note to Editors:
The Team’s report will be submitted to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who will then in turn send it to the Government of Cameroon, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), and Commonwealth governments.
The Expert Team will act impartially and independently and shall conduct itself according to the standards expressed in the International Declaration of Principles for Election Observation to which the Commonwealth is a signatory.
