The European Union Election Observation Mission to Malawi (EU EOM) says its presence in the country is to observe the electoral process and it does not certify or validate election results in any way.
Chief Observer and Member of the European Parliament Lucia Annunziata made the sentiments during a press conference organized by the Mission on Friday in Lilongwe.
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She described the team as impartial, neutral and independent observers who collect information, assess how the election is conducted in accordance to international standards that Malawi has signed up to.
Among others, she cited the Human rights standards for democracy and good governance, the United Nations (UN), the African Union and the regional standards in Africa.
She indicated that the 2019 recommendations for electoral reforms are an important priority of their work as they will revisit them adding that two months after the end of the polls, they will come back to Malawi and deliver recommendations for the next electoral process.
Annunziata was upbeat of a peaceful election campaign period and peaceful Election Day across Malawi, through which voters will express their choices freely.
As the Chief Observer, she emphasised her role is simply to observe how the elections are run.
“The EU EOM will remain in Malawi until the completion of the electoral process. Two days after Election Day, we will organise a press conference and share with you the mission’s preliminary assessment of the conduct of the election.
“One to three months after the mission has left Malawi, we will present a comprehensive final report which will include recommendations for electoral reform for future elections.
“I would like to stress that the mission observes the electoral process but does not certify or validate election results in any way. This is the sovereign responsibility of Malawi’s national authorities. In summary, we are here in the spirit of cooperation, and we will deliver an impartial, objective and comprehensive assessment of the electoral process”.
A team of observers are expected to go to Salima and stay there until after the election to have a clear understanding of the process.
This is the fifth time that the European Union is observing elections in Malawi: The EU has previously deployed election observation missions in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019, and election follow-up missions in 2013, 2017 and 2022.
The development reflects the Brussels based organization long-term support for democracy in Malawi and also represents the friendship and the spirit of cooperation that exist between the European Union and Malawi, and our mutual respect for each other.
The Mission has already been to some parts of the country where they met with people who it engaged with on various aspects of their concerns and participation in the electoral process
The 28 long-term observes will be deployed across Malawi working in 14 teams of two and will observe the campaign and preparations for the elections, voting, counting and tabulation processes in line with EU’s well established, standard election observation methodology.
The mandate of the mission is to assess the general elections in line with the Malawi legal framework, as well as with the international and regional standards and commitments Malawi had undertaken regarding democratic elections.
Overall, a total of over 100 observers will be deployed across the country by the Election Day
The Mission is bound by a code of conduct which requires strict neutrality and non-interference. It further operates under a separate and distinct mandate from that of the EU Delegation in Malawi.
