By IANS
Nairobi : The Commonwealth has announced a 13-member observer group headed by former Sierra Leone president Ahmand Tejan Kabbah for the Dec 27 Kenyan general elections, South Africa’s BuaNews reported Monday.
The Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) will comprise eminent persons from 11 member countries and will stay in the country from Dec 18 to Jan 1, 2008, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has said.
The mandate of the Group is to “determine in its own judgement whether the elections have been conducted according to the standards for democratic elections to which Kenya has committed itself, with reference to national election related legislation and relevant regional, Commonwealth and other international commitments”, McKinnon told reporters.
The COG has been constituted at the invitation of the Kenyan government after an Assessment Mission, which visited Kenya in October, spoke of a consensus among political parties and civilians for Commonwealth observers.
The other members of the COG are from Nigeria, Guyana, Britain (two), New Zealand, Canada (two), Bangladesh, Zambia, Australia, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea.