LONDON, CMC – Two Caribbean nationals have been included in a 13-member Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) that will monitor Rwanda’s Presidential Elections on August 9.

A statement from the Commonwealth Secretariat said that Dr Leith Dunn, Head of Institute for Gender and Development Studies, at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, (UWI) and Trinidadian communications consultant, Adelle Roopchand, had been included in the Observer Group that is being led by former Tanzania Prime Minister Dr Salim Ahmed Salim.

“Rwanda is the newest member of the Commonwealth and we are very pleased to observe these important elections”, said Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma.

“Democracy is a key pillar of the Commonwealth, and the credible conduct of a country’s election is an integral and vital element of the democratic process.”

The Group’s mandate is to observe the preparations for the election; the polling, counting and results process and the overall electoral environment,” the Commonwealth Secretariat said, adding that it will also assess the conduct of the process as a whole and, “where appropriate, make recommendations for the future strengthening of the electoral framework in Rwanda.

“The Group is tasked to act impartially and independently, and to conduct itself according to the standards expressed in the International Declaration of Principles for Election Observation, to which the Commonwealth is a signatory.”

The team will arrive in Rwanda on Monday and remain there until August 16.