Monday August 8, 2022
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc on Sunday launched its election observer mission to monitor national polls in Kenya slated for Tuesday.
Mulatu Teshome, the head of IGAD short-term Election Observation Mission (IGADEOM) told journalists in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya that 24 short-term observers will be deployed to various constituencies across eleven counties in the country.
"The deployment of an IGADEOM in Kenya is in line with IGAD's mandate of promoting good governance, democracy, human rights, and rule of law in the IGAD region," Teshome said.
Kenya alongside Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda are members of IGAD which was formed in 1986 to foster regional peace, development, and environmental sustainability.
Teshome, also former president of Ethiopia said that the deployment of observers will be guided by relevant continental instruments such as the 2007 African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Government
He revealed that preceding their deployment, the observers including representatives of electoral bodies and diplomats drawn from six IGAD member states were taken through a two-day orientation program.
"The orientation covered the political context of the general elections including relevant national and international legal frameworks; the IGAD code of conduct for election observers as well as IGAD's election observation methodology and tools," added Teshome.
He stressed that the objective of the observer's mission was to make an independent, objective, and impartial assessment of the Tuesday polls in Kenya in accordance with national, regional, and international standards for democratic elections.
Two major political alliances, Kenya Kwanza (Kenya First) headed by sitting Deputy President William Ruto, and Azimio la Umoja (Resolution for Unity) which is led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga with backing from President Uhuru Kenyatta will compete for the top seat in the land during Tuesday's polls.