Kenya’s General Election Angelique Pouponneau part of 15-member Commonwealth observers team |05 August 2017
Young Seychellois Angelique Pouponneau is part of the 15-member team of Commonwealth observers to the 2017 General Elections in Kenya, which take place on Tuesday August 8, 2017.
Ms Pouponneau is the vice-chairperson for Inclusion and Engagement of the Commonwealth Youth Council.
The team is being led by the former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland constituted the 15-member group at the invitation of Kenya’s Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission. This follows the visit of a pre-election assessment team to the country in March 2017.
The last general elections were held in March 2013 and, once again, voters will be asked to choose the president, National Assembly, Women Members of the Assembly, Senate, County Governors and County Assemblies.
Speaking ahead of the group’s arrival in Kenya, the Commonwealth Secretary-General said “the Commonwealth Charter recognises ‘the inalienable right of individuals to participate in democratic processes, in particular through free and fair elections in shaping the society in which they live’. In this spirit, we urge all stakeholders in Kenya to commit to ensuring peaceful and transparent elections in which candidates and voters are free from intimidation, and the fundamental freedoms of expression, association and assembly are respected.”
The Secretary-General added: “I am grateful to former President Mahama and the members of this Commonwealth Observer Group for agreeing to undertake this important exercise on behalf of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth has had a longstanding and fruitful relationship with Kenya. We stand in solidarity with its people as they exercise their right to choose leaders who will continue to advance the democratic and development gains made following the last elections in 2013, which were the first to be held under the new Constitution. These elections represent another positive step towards consolidating the reform and devolution process”.
Commonwealth observers will assess a number of factors to ensure the credibility of the electoral process as a whole. This includes the pre-electoral environment, the voting process, counting and tabulation procedures, as well as the announcement of results.
The independent group will determine whether the elections have been conducted according to the standards to which Kenya has committed itself. This includes its own election-related legislation as well as relevant regional, Commonwealth and international commitments. Where appropriate, the group may also make recommendations for the future strengthening of the electoral framework.
Observers will act impartially and will adhere to the standards of the International Declaration of Principles for Election Observation, to which the Commonwealth is a signatory.
The Observer Group’s report will be submitted to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who will thereafter send it to the government of Kenya, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, political parties, and eventually to all Commonwealth governments. It will then be made public.
An advance group of Commonwealth observers arrived in Kenya on July 19, and was joined by the remainder of the group on July 31. The group will stay until August 14, 2017, supported by a Commonwealth Secretariat team led by Martin Kasirye, head of the Electoral Support Section.
The following is the full list of observers is: John Dramani Mahama (chairperson), Natasha Stott Despoja (former Ambassador, Senator and Party Leader in Australia), Professor Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo (former Minister of External Relations of Cameroon), Christopher Cobb (Journalist/Electoral Communications Specialist of Canada), Pauline Welsh (Director of Legal Affairs, Research and Development Electoral Commission of Jamaica), Nana Asantewa Afadzinu (Executive Director, West Africa Civil Society Institute of Ghana), Professor Aishah Bidin (Law Professor and Human Rights Commissioner of Malaysia), Solomon Akintola Oyateru (retired Ambassador of Nigeria), Honourable Gideon Kayinamura (retired Ambassador of Rwanda), Angelique Pouponneau (vice-chairperson for Inclusion and Engagement of Commonwealth Youth Council of Seychelles), Vuma Glenton Mashinini (chairperson/commissioner of Electoral Commission of South Africa), Elizabeth Lwanga King (development advisor of Uganda), Honourable Canon Justice James Ogoola (chairman, The Elders Forum of Uganda), Baroness Sandip Verma (Parliamentarian House of Lords of the United Kingdom), Honourable Justice Damian Zefren Lubuva (former chairman of the National Electoral Commission of the United Republic of Tanzania).