Brussels, 08/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - John Cushman, the Fine Gael MEP, and Head of the European Union observers group for the general elections on 10 October, has been in Islamabad since last Sunday, with his team of nine. More observers will be arriving (in the short and long term) and will be deployed all over the country - a total of 164 will be coming from EU Member States.
The Irish MEP indicated that this action would involve the largest team of election observers that the European Union had ever assembled. He explained that their role, "is not to interfere with the internal politics of Pakistan". He also emphasised that, "the reaching of agreement on the road map towards democracy…is essential not only for Pakistan's long-term stability but also for the stability of the whole region". Mr Cushman, who was also Head of the election observers in the 2000 and 2001 in Sri Lanka, pointed out that those forming the core of his team had already participated in more than a hundred election mission and that the team overall, had attended more than a thousand missions world-wide, stretching from Eastern Europe to Asia and from Africa to South America.