Sebastien Pillay heads CPA UK's election assessment mission |24 May 2017

Parti Lepep’s proportionately elected member Sebastien Pillay will head the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s election assessment mission during the United Kingdom’s general election in June 2017 and contribute to recommendations to improve future general elections in this country.

Sandy Arrisol, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa’s elected member for St Louis, will also be part of the mission.

The mission is being arranged by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK (CPA UK) as it did in the 2015 and 2010 general elections. It will also observe elections in seven other UK constituencies to oversee polling, counting and post-election complaints or appeals.

“It was a privilege to have the opportunity to be an observer at this election, but to be selected from all the delegates from the 23 countries to be head of mission is a tremendous honour personally and for our country,” honourable Pillay told Seychelles NATION.

He added: “This election will be an important one and the process will provide us with additional opportunities to understand and appreciate procedures and methodologies. This will serve us in good stead as we continue to upgrade and refine the processes we have here”.

Meanwhile, honourable Pillay was quoted in the release by the CPA as saying: “Exercising the right to vote is a fundamental part of democracy. CPA UK’s election assessment mission will seek to ensure the UK election process is legitimate and representative of the electorate. On behalf of the team, we look forward to engaging with the democratic process in the UK.”

Speaking to Seychelles NATION, honourable Arrisol, for his part said: “It is an opportunity for us as members of the Seychelles National Assembly and also coming from a small country to have the chance to observe elections in the UK. We will have the chance to gather experience as to how big countries like UK manage elections. As an elected member I have had the chance to observe elections since 2006 in Seychelles and I have learned a lot and by attending electoral reform processes for almost two years. The information gathered in the process will solidify other experience I will gain in the UK. I am proud that I will be in the UK with honorable Pillay as the head of delegation”.

CPA UK chief executive Andrew Tuggey added that "this third UK election assessment mission is a vital element of CPA UK's commitment to enhance openness and transparency in parliamentary democracy across the Commonwealth. Assessing elections upholds the core values of the Commonwealth”.

He added: “I warmly welcome parliamentarians and election officials from across the Commonwealth and thank them for their commitment. Their assessments will add value to the UK’s electoral processes, and I know they will find the mission extremely interesting and worthwhile”.

According to reports, the mission will comprise up to 34 Commonwealth parliamentarians and election officials from 23 countries and territories. They will monitor election day procedures at polling stations, meet candidates, returning officers, local officials, community groups and other relevant stakeholders in order to assess the conduct of the election.

CPA UK defines an election assessment mission as a very short mission comprising less than a week of deployment, covering election day and only one or two days before and after. An election assessment mission will only examine the administration of election day as opposed to the entire election period. CPA UK conducts election assessment missions as part of its parliamentary strengthening programmes, to enhance the skills and capacity of parliamentarians as election observers.

The mission will observe the following UK constituencies: Gower (Wales), Manchester Central, Edinburgh West (Scotland), Birmingham Ladywood, North Norfolk, East Devon, Darlington, and Hendon (London). It will collate its observations and produce a preliminary report within a day of the general election and a final report with recommendations within two months of the election.