Zimbabwe Elections: Afari-Gyan, Hanna Tetteh named Commonwealth observers
Former Chairman of Ghana’s Electoral Commission, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan and the Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hanna Tetteh have been included in the John Mahama-led Commonwealth group to observe Zimbabwe’s general elections on July 30.
Former president Mahama, Dr Afari-Gyan and Madam Tetteh were appointed following the visit of a pre-election assessment team to the country in June.
Mr Mahama will lead the 24-member team of observers constituted by the Commonwealth Secretary-General. He has previously led the Commonwealth teams observing elections in Sierra Leone and Kenya.
The Commonwealth in a press statement also named former Chairman of Ghana’s Electoral Commission, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan and the Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hanna Tetteh as members of the observer group who will assess factors affecting the credibility of the electoral process as a whole.
The Commonwealth observers will also consider the pre-electoral environment, the voting process, counting and tabulation procedures and the announcement of results.
The group is independent and will determine in its own judgement whether the elections have been conducted according to the standards of Zimbabwe’s election-related legislation as well as relevant regional, Commonwealth and international commitments.
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The observers are expected to act impartially and adhere to the standards of the International Declaration of Principles for Election Observation, to which the Commonwealth is a signatory.
The statement said the Group will submit its report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who will send it to the Government of Zimbabwe, its Electoral Commission, political parties and all Commonwealth governments. The report will then be made public.
The Commonwealth Observer Group will arrive in Zimbabwe on July 23, 2018, and will be supported by a nine-member staff team from the Commonwealth Secretariat, led by Katalaina Sapolu, Director of the Governance and Peace Directorate.
Zimbabwe is not a member of the Commonwealth. It withdrew from the organisation in 2003 after it was suspended for being in breach of the Harare Declaration, which sets out the Commonwealth’s core principles and values.
In May of this year, President Emmerson Mnangagwa wrote to the Commonwealth’s Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, expressing an interest in re-joining the association, and requesting the Commonwealth to observe its forthcoming elections.
The observation group’s report on the election will contribute to the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s informal assessment of whether Zimbabwe should be readmitted.
There are 23 presidential candidates in all. In accordance with Zimbabwe’s constitution, if no presidential candidate receives a clear majority in the election on July 30, a run-off vote will be held on 8 September.
The 270-seat House of Assembly is composed of 210 members elected from constituencies and 60 women elected by proportional representation.
The Commonwealth Observer Group members are:
HE John Dramani Mahama
Former President of Ghana (Chairperson)
Mr Gary Dunn Former
Deputy Secretary-General Commonwealth Secretariat Australia
Mr Darrel Bradley
Former Mayor of Belize City Member of Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) Board Belize
Rev Mpho MW Moruakgomo
President Association of Local Authorities and Chairperson of Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) Board Botswana
Dr Fonkam Azu’u
Former Chairman Electoral Board Cameroon
Ms Sabrina Grover
Strategic Partnerships
Advisor Young Diplomats of Canada Canada
Prof John Packer
Conflict Resolution Expert Canada
Prof Kwadwo Afari-Gyan
Former Chairman Electoral Commission Ghana
Hon Hanna Tetteh
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament Ghana
Mr Jayanta Roy Chowdhury
Journalist and Senior Editor India
Judge Margarette May Macaulay
Former Judge Inter-American Court of Human Rights Jamaica
Justice Willy Munyoki Mutunga
Retired Chief Justice Kenya
Advocate Mary-Ann Ooi Suan Kim
Barrister Advocate & Solicitor Malaysia
Dr Francis Agius
Former Minister and Former Head of Parliamentary Delegation to the Council of Europe Malta
Mr Tim Barnett
Former Member of Parliament New Zealand
Ms Andie Fong Toy
Former Deputy Secretary-General (Political) Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat New Zealand
Ms Clare A Keizer
Editor-In-Chief of Searchlight newspaper St Vincent and The Grenadines
Ms Marcella Sesay Samba
Chairperson National Elections Watch Sierra Leone
Ms Janet Love
Commissioner Electoral Commission South Africa
Mr Nikoli Edwards
Former Vice Chairperson Policy, Advocacy and Projects Commonwealth Youth Council Trinidad and Tobago
Prof Sylvia Tamale
Gender Expert Uganda
Lord Robert Hayward OBE
Member of the House of Lords United Kingdom
The Rt Hon the Baroness Margaret Jay
Member of the House of Lords United Kingdom
Judge David Radford
Retired Senior Circuit Judge United Kingdom Democracy and Elections
Source: Graphic.com.gh
