The African Union Commission (AUC) has deployed its Election Observation Mission (AU EOM) to Cameroon ahead of the presidential elections slated for October 12.

The mission is led by former Rwandan Prime Minister and Senate President Bernard Makuza.

According to a statement released by the AUC on October 10, the mission’s objective is to observe the final days of the campaign, electoral operations on polling day, including the opening of polling stations, the conduct of voting, as well as the closing and counting of ballots.

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The mission, which arrived in Cameroon on October 7, comprises 40 short-term observers (STOs) drawn from across the continent, representing the geographical and institutional diversity of the African Union.

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The observers include parliamentarians from the Pan-African Parliament, African ambassadors accredited to the AU in Addis Ababa, officials from election management bodies, representatives of civil society organisations, media professionals, and members of academic institutions.

They come from a wide range of AU member states including Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Liberia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The mission will be in Cameroon from October 7 to 16, and will deliver its Preliminary Statement on October 14 at the Hilton Hotel in Yaoundé.

The report will present the mission’s initial findings and recommendations aimed at strengthening democratic governance, transparency, and the rule of law in electoral processes across Africa.

Makuza served as the Rwanda’s Prime Minister from March 2000 till October, 2011 and also served as the Senate President from October 2014 to October 2019