The European Union (EU) is deploying an EU Election Observation
Mission (EOM) to the Indonesian Province of Aceh to observe the
local elections that will take place on Dec. 11, European
Commission (EC) announced on Thursday.
The EU made the deployment following the invitation from the
Government of Indonesia, and the mission is headed by Glyn Ford,
Member of the European Parliament, according to the EU's executive
arm.
"These elections in Aceh mark another important step in the
consolidation of the peace process to which the EU remains firmly
committed," said EU Commissioner for External Relations and
European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
"That is why, following the invitation of the Indonesian
government, I have decided to deploy a mission to express our
continuous and strong support to peace, development and democracy
in the province of Aceh," she added.
The core team of the EU's mission, consisting of the Chief
Observer and seven experts, arrived in Aceh early November.
From Thursday, 33 long-term observers will observe the campaign
period and pre-election preparations throughout Aceh, as well as
the Election Day and the post-election period.
A total of 40 short-term observers, including diplomats from EU
Member States' embassies in Jakarta, will observe voting, counting
of ballots and the compilation of results.
The EU's mission will be in Aceh until early January and will
return in case the elections require a second round early in
2007.
The EC is making available € 2.4 million?(around US$3
million) to meet the costs of deploying this mission.
(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2006)
