Report from Sudan Radio Service - SRS, Thursday, 11 March 2010:
(Khartoum) - The European Union Election Observation Mission to Sudan has officially launched its activities to observe the forthcoming general elections scheduled for April this year.- - -
Speaking at a press conference in Khartoum on Thursday, the Chief Observer of the EU Election Observation Mission to Sudan, Madam Veronique De Keyser, explains the composition of the elections observer team.
[Veronique De Keyser]: “The team is there, it is present here and we have another circle, a broader circle which I call my second circle. The second circle is the 58 long-term observers who arrived some days ago and will be deployed to the 25 states of Sudan as soon as possible which is very soon, probably this weekend. So they will be deployed and we will cover the whole of Sudan - the whole country. Then there will be a third circle, the third circle is the short-term observers. They will arrive some days before the elections, stay for the elections date to re-enforce the team and will leave very shortly after the elections. The long term will stay here.”
Madam De Keyser went on to explain the methodology her team will use for observing the electoral process.
[Veronique De Keyser]: “We will be there before the elections, we will be there during the elections and we will be there after the elections – but to analyze what? First of all, clearly to be close to the facts and evidence. We are an impartial mission. We have no preferred side which is to say we don’t interfere in Sudanese politics and we will never interfere and we will be very strict, sticking to the facts and very vigilant about whatever could happen during the electoral process. We will make a very short preliminary statement after the elections and then we will provide a full report with recommendations for the future because as I mentioned I think it is really a learning process for the Sudanese people and Sudanese bodies and authorities, it is very important.”
Veronique De Keyser was speaking at a press conference in Khartoum on Thursday.
Russians To Send Observers For Elections
Report from Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, 11 March 2010:
(Khartoum) - The Russian Special Envoy to Sudan says that Russian observers will help Sudan to carry out free, fair and democratic elections.
Mikhail Margelov spoke to the press after meeting National Elections Commission officials in Khartoum on Thursday.
[Mikhail Margelov]: “We discussed the preparations for the elections and we agreed that the delegation of Russian observers which is coming to observe the elections will have a meeting with his Excellency the head of the elections commission of Sudan. We in Russia pay a lot of attention to the forthcoming elections in Sudan; we want them to be free and fair. And we received all the information which we wanted from the central elections commission. We are really satisfied with the great amount of hard work which is being done here and we wish the people of Sudan successful, free, fair and democratic elections. Russian observers will be where they are needed and we are ready to help.”
Mikhail Margelov was speaking to the press in Khartoum on Thursday.
