The European Union (EU) is planning to deploy the EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Lesotho ahead of the elections which are due to take place in September 2022.
This is according to the EU press release, which states that before the deployment of an EU EOM, an Exploratory Mission (ExM) will be deployed between four and six months before the election.
The release says the exploratory mission will last around 10 days and will be led by the European External Action Service (EEAS) in close coordination with the European Commission Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) that is supported by three to four independent experts on elections, logistics and security issues.
It adds that assessment is based on information gathered from meetings with a wide range of key speakers, including government representatives, electoral authorities, legislative and judiciary members, political leaders and parties, civil society, media, and members of the international community.
It says the exploratory mission assesses the political environment and election framework and formulates advice to the EU High Representative or Vice President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HRVP) on whether an EU EOM would be useful, advisable and feasible.
The release further states that exploratory mission also analyses operational questions, including the scope and scale of a mission, the indicative budget, logistical requirements, security risks, and possible mitigation measures including health risks in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It says based on the findings, the HRVP makes the final decision on whether to deploy an EU EOM or not.
According to the release, the team will be in Lesotho from Monday, 14 March until Monday, 21 March.
By Staff Reporter: Noliwe Velaphe