Presidential and Legislative Elections in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
ARRIVAL STATEMENT
Abidjan, September 21, 2020
The Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), together with the Carter Center (TCC), announces the arrival and deployment of a Long-Term International Electoral Observation Mission (IEOM) to observe the presidential election of October 31, 2020 and the upcoming legislative elections in Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. The mission received accreditation from the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire on August 19, 2020.
During its stay, the Mission will observe the stages of the preparatory phase of the ballot such as the establishment of the final electoral list, the filing and litigation concerning the candidates for the presidential election, the level of participation of women and youth, digital threats, the election campaign, polling and counting operations on polling day across the country, and the compilation of results. The IEOM will follow the electoral process to its conclusion, including the announcement of official results and the process relating to any disputes over the results.
In addition, the IEOM will interact with various actors in the electoral process, including the CEI, public authorities, political parties and their candidates, independent candidates, media representatives and Ivorian civil society organizations. It will also interact with other national and international Election Observation Missions and Diplomatic Missions present in the Côte d’Ivoire.
The IEOM operates independently and in a neutral manner. Its mandate is to observe and analyse the entire electoral process in order to carry out a detailed, impartial and objective assessment. International election observers will assess whether the elections reflect the free expression of the will of the Ivorian people and whether the electoral process complies with the country's legal and institutional framework as well as established international, continental and sub-regional norms and standards for democratic elections articulated in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation (PEMMO). EISA and The Carter Center conduct their election observation mission activities in accordance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and Code of Conduct for International Election Observers, which was endorsed in a ceremony at the United Nations in 2005.
The Mission is led by Mr. Denis Kadima, EISA Executive Director, and consists of 12 Long-Term Observers, deployed in pairs to different parts of the country. The observers are from Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Ghana, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia. They will be joined in October by 24 short-term observers. The observers are supported by a team of EISA and TCC experts and a secretariat based in Abidjan until January 15, 2021.
The Mission will publicize its preliminary conclusions on the conduct of the poll at a press conference and will offer its findings and recommendations for the attention of Ivorian electoral stakeholders. A comprehensive final report will be released after the electoral process is completed.
The IEOM thanks the authorities of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire for facilitating its work. The mission’s work is funded by the United States Agency for International Development.
For more information, please contact the Mission's press officer at infoieom@eisa.org.
Mission Internationale d'Observation Électorale (MIOE) conjointe EISA-TCC
Élections Présidentielle et Législatives en République de Côte d’Ivoire
Issued in Abidjan, September 21, 2020
Denis KADIMA
Acting Head of Mission
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