Chief Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to the Philippines Marta Temido, Member of the European Parliament, officially launched the EOM late in April at a press conference in Manila, concluding a five-day first visit to the country.
The deployment of the EU EOM to observe the mid-term elections on May 12 follows an invitation from the Government of the Republic of the Philippines. The EOMs are a fundamental component of EU activities to promote democracy, human rights, and civil society participation worldwide.
“This will be the first deployment of an EU Election Observation Mission in the country, marking an important step toward stronger EU-Philippines relations. Our presence aims to contribute to an inclusive, transparent and credible election process without interfering nor validating its results,” Chief Observer Temido said.
She met with several stakeholders, including the COMELEC Chairman and Commissioners, government officials, political parties and candidates, as well as representatives of civil society and the media.
The EOM started its activity on March 28 with the arrival of a core team of 12 analysts in Manila, followed by the arrival and deployment of 72 long-term observers. Shortly before election day, they will be joined by more than 100 short-term observers.
On election day, the EU Election Observation Mission will have more than 200 observers on the ground, one of the EU’s largest deployments in 30 years of election observation. This includes a delegation from the European Parliament and around 20 diplomats accredited in the Philippines from EU Member States as well as from Canada, Norway, and Switzerland.
The Mission’s mandate is to assess the extent to which the elections comply with the Philippine laws, as well as the country’s international commitments related to democratic elections, and international good practice.
“The mission observes and analyses the entire electoral process, including the legal framework, electoral administration, automated election technology, the campaign environment including media and social media, voting, and tallying of results, as well as complaints and appeals,” Temido explained.
The EU EOM is committed to remaining neutral and to abide by the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Election Observers.
The Mission will issue its initial findings in a preliminary statement, which will be presented at a press conference on May 14. A final report with recommendations for future electoral processes will be presented to the national stakeholders and published at a later stage.
The EU EOM is financed exclusively by the European Union budget.
