Commonwealth to Observe Cameroon Elections

A Commonwealth Expert Team will observe the Legislative and Municipal Elections in Cameroon, scheduled to take place on 30 September 2013, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma announced today.

The Secretary-General constituted the team at the invitation of Elections Cameroon, the body responsible for managing elections in the country.

The Expert Team's mandate is to observe and consider all aspects of the electoral process with a view to assessing compliance with the standards for democratic elections to which Cameroon has committed itself. Commonwealth Expert Teams act impartially and independently and conduct themselves according to the standards expressed in the International Declaration of Principles for Election Observation, to which the Commonwealth is a signatory.

The Commonwealth Expert Team will arrive in Yaoundé on 23 September and will remain in the country until 6 October. The team will be supported by staff from the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The Team comprises of:

Mr Irfan Abdool Rahman (Chair)

Electoral Commissioner Mauritius

Ms Judith Pestaina

Political Advisor

Dominica

Media contacts:

In Cameroon:

Diane Mensah-Bonsu

Political Affairs Division Commonwealth Secretariat

Tel: + 44 (0)755 337 6314

Email: d.mensah-bonsu@commonwealth.int

In London:

Julius Mucunguzi

Communications Officer

Communications & Public Affairs Division

Commonwealth Secretariat

Tel: +44 (0)20 7747 6382

Mobile: +44 (0)789 459 3517

Email: j.mucunguzi@commonwealth.int