EAC election observers present findings

Former President of the United Republic of Tanzania  Ali Hassan Mwinyi over the weekend presented Amb. Dr Richard Sezibera, the EAC Secretary General, with the final observation report from the recently concluded General Elections held in 18th February 2016, in Uganda.

The ceremony took place at the residence of the Former President in Dar es salaam, Tanzania. 

"I was very happy to observe the patience and orderliness with which the people of Uganda conducted her General Elections," said Mwinyi.

"These and many other things that have also been highlighted in the report, can be used as benchmarks for which other countries can borrow good practices from," he added. 

While receiving the report, the Secretary General thanked the Former President for his leadership and commitment to the EAC Elections Observers Mission, adding that, "the cooperation between the EAC and other stakeholders led to sustainable peace in the country."

The report consists of recommendations to streamline and improve the electoral process for future in the Republic of Uganda.

The EAC Observer Mission Report will be submitted to, among others, the Electoral Commission of Uganda, through the EAC Council of Ministers for consideration and implementation. 

A 50-member of Short-Term Election Observer Mission team led Mwinyi was deployed to observe the General Elections.

The Mission's mandate was to observe the overall electoral environment, pre-election activities, the polling day, the counting and tallying of results. 

The members of the mission were drawn from different but complementary disciplines and includes: members of the East African Legislative Assembly, delegates from four Partner States (Kenya, United Republic Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi), EAC Youth Ambassadors, Mission Leader, Mission Coordinator, one EAC Executive Staff and technical officers from the Secretariat as well as EALA. 

The EAC Observer Mission was a response to the invitation of the Electoral Commission as well as the decision of the EAC Council of Ministers on observation of elections in the Partner states.