Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General issues departure statement after visit to the country
The Commonwealth will send a team to observe the presidential election in The Gambia scheduled for 24 November, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba announced at the end of a three-day visit to the country.
In a statement issued from the capital, Banjul, on 20 October, Mrs Masire-Mwamba said: "I am pleased to confirm, on behalf of the Commonwealth Secretary-General, that we have accepted the invitation extended by the Independent Election Commission, to observe the election."
She said the details of the team will be announced in the coming days.
The Deputy Secretary-General's visit was in line with the Commonwealth's commitment to support democratic processes in member states.
During the visit, she met senior government officials, including those from the National Assembly and Judiciary, as well as the Independent Election Commission and the international community.
She also met leaders of political parties and civil society.
"The meetings were candid and open. They afforded my delegation the opportunity to inform ourselves and receive views from a cross-section of stakeholders on preparations for the presidential election," she said.
Mrs Masire-Mwamba, at the invitation of the Speaker of Parliament, also observed a session of the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly.
