Former President Goodluck Jonathan
Former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan has
urged Tanzania’s National Electoral Commission to ensure the conduct of
peaceful and transparent elections in the country on October 25, 2015.
Jonathan, who also extended the call to the nation’s politicians, is the chairperson of the Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) to Tanzania.
The former Nigerian President made the comments via a statement released upon his arrival in the country on Tuesday, October 20.
It reads:
"The
success of these elections depends on every stakeholder playing their
part in a peaceful, inclusive and transparent manner. The Commonwealth
has every confidence in the people of Tanzania to achieve that. During
our time in Tanzania, we will seek to assess the pre-election
environment, polling day activities and the post-election period,
against the backdrop of Tanzania’s national legislation, regional and
international commitments."
“We will perform our
observation role with impartiality, independence and transparency. On
Friday 23 October, members of the Group will deploy in small teams to
various provinces across the country to observe preparations ahead of
polling day. On Election Day, they will observe opening, voting,
closing, counting and the results management process.
“We
will issue an interim statement on our preliminary findings shortly
after the elections. A final report will be prepared in Tanzania. It
will be submitted to the Secretary-General, and subsequently shared with
relevant stakeholders and the public. The group is scheduled to depart
Tanzania on October 31.”
"I am greatly honoured
and privileged to have been asked by Commonwealth Secretary-General,
H.E. Kamalesh Sharma, to lead the Commonwealth Observer Group to
Tanzania’s general election scheduled for October 25, 2015.
“The
group was constituted following an invitation extended by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Republic
of Tanzania.”
“Our group comprises 14 eminent
persons drawn from across different regions of the Commonwealth,
including Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. The group, which includes
experts in politics, elections, media, conflict prevention and youth
affairs, arrived yesterday and will stay in Tanzania until 31 October
2015.”