Ottawa (Ontario) – Canadian observers will join a mission to observe the parliamentary elections in Lebanon on June 7, 2009. They will join approximately 50 short-term and 30 long-term observers to oversee voting, as well as the counting and the tabulation of results.
“The Government of Canada continues to support election observation missions, aiming to ensure all elections are fair and democratic,” said the Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation.
Canadian participation in the EU election observation mission is funded through CIDA’s five-year Multilateral Election Observation program. This allows Canadians to be recruited and deployed to election observation missions by CANADEM, a Canadian non-governmental organization. CANADEM has extensive experience working on various election observation missions and has recruited capable Canadian observers to the EU mission who are familiar with election observation in Lebanon and the Middle East.
“This support demonstrates Canada’s commitment to strengthening democracy and stability in Lebanon”, said the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Canadians will join approximately 80 observers in an European Union (EU) mission to oversee voting, as well as the counting and the tabulation of results. Canadian participation broadens the geographic scope of Canada’s election observation efforts and further strengthens Canada's relationship with the EU. As well, it will support civil society organizations involved in election preparedness, local monitoring and voters’ education.
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