Former President Bharrat Jagdeo will lead the Commonwealth Observer Group, which follows a formal invitation from Sri Lanka’s Commissioner of Elections, Mahinda Deshapriya, a release from the Commonwealth said today.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma reiterated the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, to which the Commonwealth is a signatory. He said: “Genuine democratic elections are an expression of sovereignty, which belongs to the people of a country, the free expression of whose will provides the basis for the authority and legitimacy of government.”
Sharma added: “Sri Lanka has among the oldest democratic traditions in the Commonwealth. The people of Sri Lanka should be able to freely exercise their franchise, in an enabling environment marked by transparency, a level playing field, and adherence to the laws and norms that govern a credible and peaceful election. For this, key stakeholders must play their due roles.”
The Group will consider the pre-electoral environment and preparations. On election day and thereafter, members will observe the voting process, counting and tabulation procedures and the announcement of results. The Group will act impartially and make an independent assessment of the electoral process. It will conduct itself according to the standards expressed in the International Declaration of Principles for Election Observation to which Sri Lanka has committed itself.
Upon completion of its assignment, the Group will submit its report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who will in turn send it to the Government of Sri Lanka, the Commissioner of Elections and the principal political parties, before making it available to all Commonwealth Governments, and eventually releasing it into the public domain.
The nine Observers will be in Sri Lanka from 2 to 14 January 2015. A five-member team from the Commonwealth Secretariat, led by Katalaina Sapolu, Director of the Rule of Law Division, will support them.
