EASF Election Observer Mission Says Voting has been Conducting Peacefully

(ENA) The Eastern African Standby Force Election Observer Mission (EASF) said voting has been conducting in a peaceful manner and a high voter turnout recorded until now.

The Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) has deployed 12 teams of observers in 5 regions.

Based on the information collected from the teams on the ground, voting has been conducting in a peaceful manner and a high voter turnout recorded until now.

According to a statement of EASF, out of the 96 polling stations visited by the observers, nearly 40 percent opened late and were already queuing  at the time of opening.

The EASF Election Observer Teams have not recorded any major incidents till now, the statement said, adding that high presence of law enforcement agencies has been observed in most areas of deployment.

The observers have also recorded high participation of women and youth. In most polling stations visited, priority was given to the elderly and physically challenged.

Universal principles such as secrecy of ballot were maintained in all polling stations visited. However, in some polling stations the layout is not as per the election directives, the statement noted.

Due to the heavy rains reported in some areas, the delay was experienced at the start of the voting exercise.

The EASF-EOM has called on all voters to maintain a calm and peaceful environment throughout the voting day and after the announcement of results.

“We urge the law enforcement agencies to be vigilant as they maintain a high level of professionalism when discharging their duties,” the statement said.

The EASF observer teams will remain at the various zones of deployment until the counting process is completed, maintaining the same station used as the opening station, it was learned.

Source:  Ethiopia News Agency