“By the end of this week, our international observers will arrive in the country to start the process of monitoring the electoral process,” AU Representative in Cote d’Ivoire Josephine Charlotte Mayamakala said in Abidjan.
Besides the African Union, Cote d’Ivoire’s civil society groups plan to deploy observers across the entire national territory.
The Cote d’Ivoire Platform for Election Organization, a coalition of 14 associations, will deploy 800 observers in polling stations chosen randomly on the election day.
These “impartial and independent” observers will report on every incident that takes place at the polling station where they will be deployed.
Cote d’Ivoire’s Independent Electoral Commission has announced that close to 20,000 polling stations will be opened across the country and in 19 diplomatic missions.
A total of eight candidates, including incumbent President Alassane Ouattara, are contesting in the Oct. 25 presidential elections.
The elections are considered crucial for the restoration of lasting peace in Cote d’Ivoire after the 2010 post-election violence that claimed at least 3,000 lives. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
