{"id":409028,"date":"2017-08-04T08:01:47","date_gmt":"2017-08-04T08:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ghana-mma.com\/2017\/08\/04\/john-mahama-heads-commonwealth-observer-mission-in-kenya\/"},"modified":"2017-08-04T08:01:47","modified_gmt":"2017-08-04T08:01:47","slug":"john-mahama-heads-commonwealth-observer-mission-in-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/08\/04\/john-mahama-heads-commonwealth-observer-mission-in-kenya\/","title":{"rendered":"John Mahama heads Commonwealth Observer Mission in Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"td-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"http:\/\/adomonline.com\/ghana-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/3352106843040_8201870494677.jpg\" data-caption=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"440\" height=\"330\" class=\"entry-thumb td-modal-image\" src=\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/3352106843040_8201870494677.jpg.pagespeed.ce.aWT_2kxiNU.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Mahama Kenya\" data-pagespeed-url-hash=\"2682552917\" onload=\"pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Former President John Mahama is in Kenya as part of Commonwealth Observer Mission to monitor the East African country\u2019s August 8 elections.<\/p>\n<p>The former President heads the 15-member Observer Mission which includes journalists and former diplomats from Commonwealth member countries.<\/p>\n<p>At a press briefing in Nairobi Thursday, Mr Mahama explained, \u201cour presence here affirms the support of the Commonwealth to Kenya and its democratic processes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/1293381014166_8271598739290.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-pagespeed-url-hash=\"2831518654\" onload=\"pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>He assured the political parties and Kenyans, their observation role will be undertaken in an impartial and transparent manner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will seek to assess the pre-election environment, polling day activities and the post-election period against the backdrop of Kenya\u2019s national legislation and regulations as well as regional and international commitments,\u201d Mr Mahama told the media.<\/p>\n<p>The East African country is yet to recover from the political and economic crisis it was plunged into following the declaration of former President Mwai Kibaki as the winner of December 27, 2007, presidential election.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/9087117587630_5933302632429.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-pagespeed-url-hash=\"4204937438\" onload=\"pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The post-2007-2008 election violence reportedly left at least 1,200 people dead after a brutal police response to protests combined with ethnic killings.<\/p>\n<p>Current Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta and his vice, William Ruto were linked to the killings leading to the International Criminal Court (ICC) laying charges against them.<\/p>\n<p>But the crimes against humanity laid on them were withdrawn for want of evidence, the Hague-based court said in December 2014.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/4776826260870_4445639904588.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-pagespeed-url-hash=\"3971367761\" onload=\"pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>In their bid to avoid a repeat of the 2007-2008 post-election clashes, the Commonwealth Observers said they will \u201cobserve the opening, voting, closing, counting and the results management processes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mindful of the significance of the elections to Kenyans, Mr Mahama said their presence is to affirm the support of Commonwealth to Kenya and its democratic processes.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/749701999903_6596391803326.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-pagespeed-url-hash=\"1426877319\" onload=\"pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The observers will be deployed to various locations across the country on August 5, 2017, the former Ghanaian leader said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey will be in small teams and will arrive to observe preparations ahead of polling day and meet with political parties, the police, election officials and other stakeholders in their respective locations,\u201d Mr Mahama said.<\/p>\n<p>The full list of Commonwealth observers is:<\/p>\n<p>Chairperson:<br \/>His Excellency John Dramani Mahama<br \/>Former President of the Republic of Ghana<\/p>\n<p>Members: (in alphabetical order of nationality)<\/p>\n<p>Ms Natasha Stott Despoja<br \/>Former Ambassador, Senator and Party Leader<br \/>Australia<\/p>\n<p>Professor Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo<br \/>Former Minister of External Relations<br \/>Cameroon<\/p>\n<p>Mr Christopher Cobb<br \/>Journalist\/Electoral Communication Specialist<br \/>Canada<\/p>\n<p>Ms Pauline Welsh,<br \/>Director of Legal Affairs<br \/>Electoral Commission of Jamaica<\/p>\n<p>Mrs Nana Asantewa Afadzinu<br \/>Executive Director, West Africa Civil Society Institute<br \/>Ghana<\/p>\n<p>Professor Aishah Bidin<br \/>Law Professor and Human Rights Commissioner<br \/>Malaysia<\/p>\n<p>Mr Solomon Akintola Oyateru<br \/>Ambassador (Retired)<br \/>Nigeria<\/p>\n<p>Hon Gideon Kayinamura<br \/>Ambassador (Retired)<br \/>Rwanda<\/p>\n<p>Ms Angelique Pouponneau<br \/>Vice-Chairperson for Inclusion and Engagement<br \/>Commonwealth Youth Council<br \/>Seychelles<\/p>\n<p>Mr Glen Mashinini<br \/>Chairperson\/Commissioner<br \/>Electoral Commission of South Africa<\/p>\n<p>Ms Elizabeth Lwanga King<br \/>Development Advisor<br \/>Uganda<\/p>\n<p>Hon Canon Justice James Ogoola<br \/>Chairman<br \/>The Elders Forum of Uganda<\/p>\n<p>Baroness Sandip Verma<br \/>Parliamentarian<br \/>United Kingdom<\/p>\n<p>Hon Justice Damian Zefren Lubuva<br \/>Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Justice at the Court of Appeal, and Chairman of the National Electoral Commission<br \/>United Republic of Tanzania.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a style=\"display:none\" rel=\"follow\" href=\"http:\/\/megatheme.ir\/\" title=\"\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628 \u0648\u0631\u062f\u067e\u0631\u0633\">\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628 \u0648\u0631\u062f\u067e\u0631\u0633<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former President John Mahama is in Kenya as part of Commonwealth Observer Mission to monitor the East African country\u2019s August 8 elections. The former President heads the 15-member Observer Mission which includes journalists and former diplomats from Commonwealth member countries. At a press briefing in Nairobi Thursday, Mr Mahama explained, \u201cour presence here affirms the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":409029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-409028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>John Mahama heads Commonwealth Observer Mission in Kenya - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/08\/04\/john-mahama-heads-commonwealth-observer-mission-in-kenya\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"John Mahama heads Commonwealth Observer Mission in Kenya - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Former President John Mahama is in Kenya as part of Commonwealth Observer Mission to monitor the East African country\u2019s August 8 elections. The former President heads the 15-member Observer Mission which includes journalists and former diplomats from Commonwealth member countries. 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