International observer missions present preliminary report
21-December-2015
Four international observation missions have issued their preliminary statements on the second round of the presidential election held on December 16, 17 and 18, 2015.
They are the Electoral Commission Forum of Southern African Development Community (SADC-ECF), SADC Election Observation Mission (SEOM), African Union Expert Election Observation Mission (AUEEOM) and SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF).
The statements were presented yesterday at the Avani Seychelles resort by the chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) from Lesotho Mahapela Lehola, head of SEOM deputy minister Nyeliti Mondlane, commissioner of electoral commission of Ghana Saadatou Maida and a member of parliament from South Africa Fezile Bhengu.
The missions were deployed to the electoral areas on Mahé and observed voting at various special polling stations where it was reported that mostly all of them opened and closed on time and there were no incidents at the stations.
The reports contain observations in general, from polling day to the announcement of results.
The missions raised concerns with recommendations but they also pointed out best practices observed during this election.
The missions noted with great concern that many reports were brought to their attention by stakeholders and common citizens regarding practices by both parties that may substantiate illegal and reprehensible acts of vote buying and undue interference in the freedom of some voters to exercise their choice.
The missions’ observations generally concluded with the 2015 electoral process in Seychelles being conducted in an atmosphere of peace, order and tranquility. However it is not stated whether this was a fair and just election.
The missions reiterated the recommendations made in the first round of election held on December 3, 4 and 6, 2015 that the voters register must be regularly updated.
Among the recommendations is that the voter education is strengthened to deal with prohibited conduct such as influence on voters, the rights of the persons with disabilities to cast their vote in secret must be upheld through the adoption of new electoral innovations, the constitution should be amended to allow the determination of presidential election results petition by the constitutional court first before installation of the new president, consider introducing biometric voter registration and issuing votes’ cards as proof of registration, regular stakeholder engagements to strengthen communication between the ECS, its stakeholders and the civil society, conduct further reforms to campaign finance regulations especially by introducing public funding for campaigns, develop an adequate results system that gives tabulation and compilation of results to minimise uncertainty and public suspicion, consider reducing the voting period to one day.
Having noted the statements by the candidates following the announcement of results, in particular the objection expressed by the leader of the Seychelles National Party (SNP) Wavel Ramkalawan and his intention to challenge the outcome through the courts, the SADC-PF and AUEEOM will therefore defer making its overall assessment of the elections pending the finalisation of the petition.
The SADC-PF said the law is silent on the timeframe within which the Constitutional Court must determine such petitions where the results of the presidential election are being questioned or subject to review. The constitution also provides that a person elected as president holds office from the day after the election has taken place.
The SADC-ECF said the presidential election of 2015 in Seychelles marks an important step forward in the management of elections in a multiparty democracy.
The AUEEOM urged all stakeholders to pursue only the provided legal avenues for the resolution of their grievances and to accept the final decisions emanating from the legal process.
SEOM encouraged the Seychellois to keep the spirit of tolerance it has shown throughout the electoral process and maintain peace and tranquility.
The mission leaders and representatives said the final reports encompassing the whole election 2015 will be released after all processes are finalised by the missions and that will take from 30 to 90 days.
The missions have appealed to the people of Seychelles and their political leaders to continue conducting themselves peacefully and with restraint until the completion of the process and to accept its legitimate outcome.
Source: NATION 12-21-15