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The
chairman of the African Union, Amara Essy, arrived in Pretoria
on Sunday for the Africa Conference on Elections, Democracy and
Governance, conference organisers said.
"The African Union Commission welcomes this joint initiative taken
by the (Independent) Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to
co-host the Africa Conference on Elections, Democracy and
Governance for electoral management bodies to develop and adopt
common norms and standards for the conduct of elections in Africa,"
said Essy, a former foreign minister of the Ivory Coast.
Essy was met at Johannesburg International Airport by the
chairwoman of the IEC, Dr Brigalia Bam, who is co-hosting the
Africa Conference.
"The objectives of the Africa Conference... are to complement the
New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), develop norms and
standards for African electoral management bodies and reduce
conflict in African elections," said Bam.
She said 485 delegates from 51 electoral management bodies would
attend the conferece at the CSIR Conference Centre, Pretoria.
Key themes of the conference, to be opened by President Thabo Mbeki
on Monday, are multiparty democracy and its relevance in the
African context, democracy and good governance, sources of conflict
and violence in Africa, the role of traditional and modern
institutions, formal and substantive democracy, constitutions and
electoral processes, monitoring and observer missions and resources
for elections in Africa.
African experts and scholars will deliver papers and guide
discussions on a draft "Declaration on Elections", which will be
considered by the African Union's policy organs in preparation for
the Heads of State and Government summit in Maputo, Mozambique in
July.
Other outcomes of the Africa Conference include the development of
principles, norms, standards and values to guide the conduct of
African electoral management bodies and the operations of elections
on the continent - Sapa
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