European External Action Service

09/13/2024 | Press release | Archived content

The EU EOM deployed its 32 long-term observers to all provinces of Mozambique today

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The EU EOM deployed its 32 long-term observers to all provinces of Mozambique today

© © EU EOM Mozambique 2024

The 32 long-term observers (LTOs) of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) were deployed today in teams of two to all provinces of Mozambique.

The LTOs arrived in Maputo on 9 September and underwent a three-day training. "Once on the ground, the observers will meet with all stakeholders involved in the electoral process, such as local authorities, electoral institutions, candidates, media and civil society representatives", Deputy Chief Observer Margarida Alves told the press in a media briefing at the event.

"The observers will report to the Maputo-based Core Team and the factual information gathered will serve as the basis for a preliminary statement, which will be presented at a press conference in Maputo within two days of election day", she added.

Margarida Alves added: "We have a consistent and proven observation methodology over the last 20 years. We are impartial and we try to make a thorough analysis of the electoral process".

Asked about an alleged criticism of the EU's double standards in analysing electoral processes in different countries, taking Venezuela and the 2023 local elections in Mozambique as examples, the Deputy Chief Observer reiterated that: "Our methodology does not allow us to compare elections between countries. In last year's local elections in Mozambique, the EU did not deploy an election observation mission. However, one of our recommendations for 2019, where we had a fully-fledged mission, concerns the publication of the original polling station announcements, accessible to everyone. I reiterate that this is an excellent recommendation because it is intended to contribute to greater transparency and credibility of the electoral process".

On election day, the EU Election Observation Mission will be composed of more than 150 observers from the 24 EU Member States, Canada, Norway and Switzerland.