Zimbabwe elections: Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan to lead AU observer mission
Goodluck Jonathan, a former leader of Nigeria, will oversee a group of 76 election observers.
After the voting process, the observer mission will release a statement.
After Olusegun Obasanjo, he is the second former president of Nigeria to lead an AU delegation to Zimbabwe.
As the leader of the Joint African Union (AU) and Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa) Election Observation Mission (EOM), former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan will arrive in Zimbabwe ahead of the general elections on August 23.
Ruhakana Rugunda, a former prime minister of Uganda, will assist Jonathan.
The combined team will include “73 short-term observers (STOs) and three Core Team of election specialists,” according to a statement from AU Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat.
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They will arrive in Zimbabwe on August 16, remain until the announcement of the post-election results, and depart on August 29.
The mission is required to:
Give a precise and unbiased report or evaluation of the Zimbabwean elections’ quality, taking into account how well they adhered to national, continental, and worldwide criteria for democratic elections;
based on the results, make suggestions for enhancing future elections;
To ensure that the holding of democratic, credible, and peaceful elections supports the establishment of democratic governance, peace, and stability in the nation, the AU should show its solidarity with and support for Zimbabwe’s election and democratization process.
Like other missions operating in Zimbabwe, the joint observer team will publish a report on its initial findings.
“The combined AU-Comesa EOM will interact with a number of stakeholders and track the last-minute planning and voting procedure. After election day, the joint EOM will provide its preliminary report based on the findings, according to their statement.
After Olusegun Obasanjo led a team of 69 observers to Zimbabwe in 2013, Jonathan will be the second former president of Nigeria to do so.
Obasanjo disregarded accusations of electoral fraud at the time.
