Islamabad, 27 December 2008: The European Union today launches a Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) for the national and provincial elections in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Mission is headed by Chief Observer Michael Gahler, a German member of the European Parliament.

The Mission is made up of a Core Team of 11 elections experts based in Islamabad. A total of 48 Long-term Observers (LTOs) are being deployed around the country. On election day, it is anticipated that some 80 observers from 20 EU member states will observe voting, counting and the aggregation of results. After election day , the LEOM will remain in country to observe the post-election period.

The mission is “’limited’’ due to the fact that emergency rule was in place until 15 December. This meant that it has not been possible to deploy observers either in the numbers originally planned, or for the time period originally anticipated.

The mission is mandated to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the entire election process in accordance with international standards for democratic elections. The EU LEOM is independent in its findings and conclusions and will adhere to the “Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation”, adopted in October 2005 at the United Nations in New York by a number of international bodies involved in election observation.

Election observation is an important component of the European Union’s policy of promoting human rights and democratization throughout the world. An EU Election Observation Mission was also deployed for the elections in Pakistan in 2002.

The Chief Observer will be hosting a Press Conference at the Serena Hotel on 28 December 2007 at 10:30..

There will also be a photo-opportunity at the Holiday Inn in Islamabad on 28 December 2007 at 09:00 to mark the deployment of the LTOs.