The European Union confirmed this Friday that it will send an observation mission to the presidential elections on December 5 in Gambia, a vote in which President Adama Barrow aspires to a third term, in a climate marked by the doubts of his main adversary and opposition leader, Ousainou Darboe, about the cleanliness of the process.
Darboe has reiterated that his United Democratic Party has no conflict with the Electoral Commission but, in an interview earlier this month with the broadcaster Hill Top FM, he again demanded "guarantees that the elections are held with transparency and credibility."
In this context, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, has appointed Reinhold Lopatka, a member of the European Parliament, as head of Observation to Gambia, with the mandate to "carry out a thorough, independent, and impartial assessment of the electoral process, based on the national legal framework of the African country."
According to the planned schedule, at the end of this month, nine analysts with expertise in different areas of the electoral cycle will travel to Gambia, who will make up the Central Team. At the beginning of November, 16 long-term observers will join, to which will later be added 20 short-term observers and several short-term local observers from the diplomatic corps.
The EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) will also be reinforced by a delegation of seven MEPs. All members of the EOM come from member states of the European Union and from partner countries such as Canada, Switzerland, Norway, and the United Kingdom.