(Seychelles News Agency) - Seychelles' former President Danny Faure is leading a team of Commonwealth election observers to the Maldives for the presidential election on September 9, 2023.
According to a press statement from Commonwealth on Monday, Faure, who is the Chairperson of the Observer Group, said that the presence of Commonwealth observers at the 2023 Presidential Election in Maldives affirms the Commonwealth's continuing solidarity with the people of Maldives.
Following the group's arrival in the capital, Male, on Saturday, Faure said: "It is a great honour to be a part of this important democratic endeavour. This moment is even more significant as this will be the first Commonwealth Observer Group to observe an election in the country since Maldives re-joined the Commonwealth in February 2020."
There are 282,395 eligible voters in this year's presidential election in which the incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih will be up against seven other candidates.
Faure emphasised the independence of the observers and said: "Our mandate is to observe, and not to interfere with the electoral process."
He explained that the Commonwealth observers would evaluate the pre-election environment, polling day, as well as the post-election period and would give a substantive account of their observations.
"As independent observers, our mandate is to observe, and not to interfere with, the electoral process and to give a substantive account of our observations. We will evaluate the pre-election environment, polling day, as well as the post-election period. We will consider the electoral process as a whole, and report on whether it has been conducted in accordance with the national, Commonwealth and other international standards to which Maldives has committed itself," he said.
Members of the Commonwealth Observer Group will stay until September 15.
"We will consider the electoral process as a whole and report on whether it has been conducted in accordance with the national, Commonwealth, and other international standards to which Maldives has committed itself," the Chairperson added.
The Group was constituted by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Patricia Scotland, following an invitation from the Elections Commission of Maldives and after a pre-election assessment mission in July 2023.
Faure is joined in the Group by 10 other persons from across the Commonwealth, including Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Pacific. They are drawn from various backgrounds ranging from the political, civil society, election management, diplomatic, and legal fields.
The Group's final report will be submitted to Baroness Scotland, the government of Maldives, the Elections Commission of Maldives, political parties, and Commonwealth member governments. The report will later be made available to the public.
