The European Union (EU) yesterday formally launched its election monitoring team to Nigeria ahead of the general elections billed for April, 2011.

Former Prime Minister of Slovenia, and current member of the EU parliament, Alojz Peterle, is leading the European Union Election Observation Mission to monitor the conduct of the general polls in Nigeria. According to a statement from the mission, over 120 observers from 27 member states as well as Norway and Switzerland are to be deployed for the mission. A team of nine election analysts from eight different EU countries arrived Abuja March 1, to set up and coordinate the mission, and are to be joined by a group of 52 long-term observers who will be deployed across the country to observe the processes and report back to the Abuja team.

European union election observers team's commitment

At a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Mr Peterle spoke of the team's commitment to neutrality and fairness in its evaluation of the poll's compliance with local and international electoral laws.

"We are not professors here; we are not teachers here; we are partners," he said. "It is a privilege to lead the European Union Election Observation Mission to Nigeria. I hope these elections will contribute to a peaceful future of the country. It is important that citizens can exercise their right to vote and candidates are able to campaign freely in an inclusive democratic environment." The mission is independent of any EU institutions or member states and is expected to make public its preliminary findings after the elections and then a final report - with technical recommendations for future elections - to be published about two months after the elections.

The EU's election observation mission to Nigeria during 2007 elections, joined other local and international observers to roundly condemn the polls as one of the country's worst.

The Chief Observer for the 2011 team, Mr Peterle said the EU has reached an agreement with the federal government and the Independent National Electoral Commission, guaranteeing its observer members freedom of movement and access to all polling stations.

The team will meet with government officials, candidates and representatives from the political parties, civil society and the media.

They will also assess all aspects of the process including the registration of voters and candidates, the training of election staff, voter education, campaign activities, the candidates and political parties, the media coverage, the preparations for polling as well as complaint and appeal process.