Brussels, 23/09/2004 (Agence Europe) - Further to the observation mission for presidential and legislative elections in Malawi, the Dutch EU Council Presidency issued the following statement:
"The EU has taken note of the Final Report of the EU Election Observation Mission for the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Malawi. The EU welcomes the fact that elections were conducted in a generally peaceful environment and that voting proceeded smoothly. This is in no small part due to the commendable behaviour of voters and polling staff, the efforts of civil society organisations to provide civic education and the manner in which private media generally provided reasonably balanced coverage of the elections. Nevertheless the EU notes that the elections fell short of international standards in a number of key areas. The overall process failed to provide a level playing field for political contestants, the voter registration process was unsatisfactory and the tabulation of results seriously lacked transparency. Furthermore, the EU notes that the overall performance of the Malawi Electoral Commission was disappointing. It however welcomes the fact that domestic pressure has resulted in momentum for change at the Commission, which the EU hopes will translate into a wide-ranging reform of its composition and procedures. The EU urges the Malawian Authorities to take appropriate steps to improve the framework for elections and to demonstrate sufficient political will to ensure that the next elections are conducted in line with international standards, such as the SADC Guidelines and Principles Governing Democratic Elections"