Brussels, 10/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - The EU has just sent an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Ecuador to monitor the presidential, parliamentary and local elections scheduled for 20 October. The EOM officially started on 9 September with the arrival of six election experts in the capital, Quito. It will be led by MEP and former European Commissioner Emma Bonino (Italy), who will arrive in Quito on 12 September for a preliminary visit. A second and third wave of EU observers (16 and 40 people, respectively) will be sent to Ecuador before election day and the EOM will observe the entire process, including a possible second round scheduled for 24 November. The deployment of the EOM follows an invitation from the Ecuadorian election authorities and the European Commission describes it as a concrete expression of the EU's "fostering of democratic institutions and stability "in the Andean country".