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Wednesday, 23 October 2019 03:38 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Chandani Kirinde
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Sri Lanka said yesterday that some 80 observers will be deployed in the island from now until after the 16 November Presidential Polls. Deputy Chief Observer Dimitra Ioannou said a team of 30 highly-experienced long-term observers (LTOs), were deployed to all nine provinces of Sri Lanka last morning, and they will be meeting a wide range of election stakeholders in their areas and begin sending first-hand accounts from the field soon. 
Ioannou told reporters at a press briefing that a core team of nine experts arrived in Colombo on 11 October, and for election day, they and the long-term observers will be joined by thirty short-term observers, as well as a by delegation of up to seven Members of the European Parliament, bringing the total mission strength to some 80 observers.
She said that EU EOM will carry out a comprehensive election assessment, focusing on the legal framework, electoral administration, voter registration, campaigning, conduct of the media, including social media, voting, counting and tallying, and the transmission of results.
“The Mission will remain in the country well beyond election day, to observe any appeals or complaints that have been or may be raised,” Ioannou said, as EU EOM to Sri Lanka officially launched its observation work in Colombo.
The EU official emphasised that they had no interests in who wins or loses the election, but are here as observers and will be bound by a code of conduct which requires strict neutrality, independence, and non-interference. She said that EU EOM undertakes its work in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation.
Meanwhile Chief Observer Marisa Matias, a Member of the European Parliament from Portugal, said that that the Presidential Election marks an important stage in the country’s democratic process and she hopes the presence of the observers will contribute to its transparency.
Matias will present the EOM’s initial findings in a preliminary statement at a press conference in Colombo about two days after election day, irrespective of whether the results have been announced.
She will later return to Sri Lanka to present the Mission’s final report, with recommendations for future improvements to the electoral process, usually some two months after the end of the current process.
This is the sixth EU EOM to Sri Lanka. The EU deployed election observation missions to Sri Lanka in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2015. (CK)
