Khartoum, 11 March (SUNA) - The mission assigned by the European Union to monitor the coming elections in Sudan, which is composed of more than 130 observers from 22 EU member states, as well as Norway, Switzerland and Canada, will cover all the 25 states
of the Sudan. The EU Chief Observer, Veronique De Keyser, said in a press conference held Tuesday she held at l Al-Fatih Tower Hotel that the EU mission came to Sudan on the invitation of the National Elections Commission (NEC) and the government of Sudan and will participate in the monitoring of the elections, explaining that the mission includes specialized experts. She said that the EU observers were deployed in all states of Sudan, and that they would meet with the government officials as well as the officers of the election, candidates and representatives of political parties and civil society organizations and the media. She said that the EU observers would conduct a thoroughly comprehensive analysis of the electoral process based on long-term monitoring and methodology developed by the European Union over years. The EU Chief Observer, Veronique De Keyser, explained that the task of this mission, which is independent from EU institutions and member states, will be to carry out a neutral evaluation of the democratic elections in accordance with the international and regional standards for democratic elections and the laws of Sudan. She affirmed that the members of the EU Observation Mission will abide by the principle of neutrality and the ethical rules of the EU especially with regard to the monitoring of general elections and the Sudanese laws. She indicated that the financial support for all European missions assigned by the European Union to monitor elections is provided by special fund of the EU aiming to promote democracy and human rights. She hoped that the elections open a new chapter and bring about lasting peace to the people of Sudan in the future and enable the citizens to exercise their right to vote and to enable the candidates to carry out their campaigning freely in a democratic atmosphere. The legal adviser of the EU Mission also spoke at the press conference, saying that the Election Law of the year 2008 includes many positive clauses. It is to be noted that the Chief EU Observer, Veronique De Keyser is a Belgian citizen and a member of the European Parliament, and that the EU mission includes 10 analysts from eight EU member states who arrived in Sudan on February 27. MF/MO