EU deploys observers in Lebanon

Following an agreement with the Government of the Republic of Lebanon, the European Commission will deploy next week an EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the Parliamentary elections in Lebanon, currently scheduled to be held on four days: 29 May, 5, 12, 19 June.

The Commission welcomes the prospect of holding genuinely democratic Parliamentary elections, which are a means to reaffirm full sovereignty in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1559. The EU EOM will be led by José Ignacio Salafranca Sanchez-Neyra, Member of the European Parliament, Member of the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs. The EOM is a further contribution by the European Commission to supporting democracy in the Middle East and Mediterranean region.

In total, the European Commission plans to deploy some 90 observers: A core team of elections experts based in Beirut which will arrive shortly; 24 long-term observers to be deployed to the provinces in order to follow pre-electoral preparations, campaigning, voting and the post-election period, and 50 short-term observers arriving closer to the first election day, who will observe polling and counting on all four election days.

The mission will assess the whole election process, including the legal framework, the political environment and campaign, electoral preparations, voting and counting as well as the post-election period. The mission will issue a preliminary statement shortly after the elections, and later a final report detailing the findings of the mission and offering recommendations for possible improvement.

The funding decision represents a commitment of EUR 1.9 mln from the European Commission’s European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights.

The European Commission also supports Lebanese Non-Governmental organisations involved in domestic election observation, voter education and media training on elections.