President Uhuru Kenyatta of Jubilee Party with Nasa presidential candidate Raila Odinga. [Photo/the-star.co.ke]
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has deployed 15 elections observers to Kenya to observe the general elections scheduled on Tuesday next week.
The team is comprised of country nominees from D R Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Malawi, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the COMESA Secretariat.
Prior to the election day, the observes will meet key electoral stakeholders including the main political parties, the security agencies, the IEBC, the civil society, the Media and the Judiciary to understand their level of preparedness as well as the political environment.
The COMESA team is led by former Zimbabwe Minister of Justice, Ambassador Dr. Simbi Mubako. It will observe the various stages of voting, vote counting and declaration of election results. Shortly after election day, the team will issue a preliminary statement of its findings, and later present a final report with recommendations for improvement of future electoral practices in Kenya.
The observation process will be guided primarily by the constitution and legal framework of the Republic of Kenya, as read with relevant international and regional instruments, including the COMESA Guidelines on Election Observation and Article 6(h) of the COMESA Treaty that calls for “the promotion and sustenance of a democratic system of governance in each Member State.