Nairobi, August 8, 2022: The joint African Union- COMESA election observers’ mission to the August 9th General Elections in Kenya has deployed observers to 38 out of the 47 counties in the country. By Monday, the observers had all arrived in their areas of deployment and begun mapping the polling centres and meeting key election and security officials.

Prior to departure, the observers were equipped with electronic data collection kits and other supplies and are expected to observe the preparations for voting, the voting process and the counting.

The deployment follows the conclusion of a three-day briefing and orientation programme conducted by key stakeholders in the Kenya electoral process on 4 – 6 August 2022.

The joint mission comprises 93 observers led by former Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma with Ambassador Marie-Pierre Lloyd, member of the COMESA Committee of Elders and supported by Commissioner Bankole Adeoye of Political Affairs, Peace and Security. The observers are drawn from Member States, the Pan African Parliament, the Civil Society Organizations, Academia and Election Management Bodies in Africa.

The short- term joint mission will be on the ground until 15th August while the long- term team will remain in the country until 20th August 2022. This is the first time that AU and COMESA have mounted a fully-fledged joint mission. Previously, the two have maintained high levels of collaboration during their election observation missions.

About 18,000 elections observers are participating in Kenya elections with at least seven African former Heads of State and Governments leading the various missions.

Meanwhile, heads of international elections’ observer missions met today to share information on their activities, including their deployment and post-election day release of preliminary statements.