Elections' Training Kicks Off

Observers from the Eastern Africa Standby Force are currently serving a 14-day quarantine period at the Berjaya quarantine facility, in Beau Vallon, Seychelles. The observers arrived in the country on Friday 9th

October, 2020. Following an invitation from the Seychelles' government, EASF began Integrated mission planning process (IMPP) for the mission in Nairobi, Kenya from September 21-25.
 
As part of the programme, a virtual training session is also being organized. The training session started today and will be conducted during the course of the quarantine period. The Head of Mission (HoM), Mr Dawit Assefa, pointed out the importance of engaging the observers and in enhancing their capacity in order to attain the mission objectives.

The international election observer mission consists of observers from Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Burundi, Sudan and Uganda. The presidential and legislative elections in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, will take place from October 22-24 in which around 70,000 people are eligible to vote.

Both local and international observers will have to adhere to the code of conduct for election observers released by the Electoral Commission which includes new regulations for accreditation of observers.

The EASF observer mission is planning to meet all presidential candidates, members of the civil society and other relevant stakeholders prior to the elections. Three political parties, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS), United Seychelles (US) and One Seychelles are contesting the presidential elections. For the National Assembly, LDS and US have candidates in all 26 districts while One Seychelles has 18 and Lalyans Seselwa three.

The election virtual training session will cover topics such as, electoral cycle, standard and principles of elections, media, gender and conflict in elections and others. The deployment of the EASF election observer mission has been financed by the Member States including financial support from the Kingdom of Denmark through the International Advisory and Coordination Staff (IACS) based at the EASF Secretariat in Nairobi, Kenya. The EASF election observers will be deployed on the main island of Mahe and some outer Islands to observe polling.

Photo Gallery: Mission Clothing Donated by the Government of the Royal Kingdom of Denmark