Brussels, 02/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Union will monitor presidential elections planned for Sunday 27 June in the Republic of Guinea. At the request of the authorities in Guinea, an electoral observation mission, led Alexander Lambsdorff MEP (ALDE, Germany), is currently being deployed.
In a press release published on 1 June, Catherine Ashton, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in the EU and vice president of the European Commission highlighted the importance of these elections, which represented a decisive opportunity for democratisation in the country.
The central team in the observation mission consists of seven experts and an Observer-in-Chief. It was already set up on 27 May. 23 long-term observers and 40 short-term observers will provide crucial support in the monitoring of the electoral process from beginning to end (campaign, procedures, vote and announcing the results).
The EU has raised more than €4.3 million to fund this observation mission, which will remain in the country until August. (A.N./transl.fl)