DAR ES SALAAM, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) said on Sunday it will deploy at least 140 election observers at all polling stations on Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar.
Tanis Marques, the EU Deputy Chief Observer, told a news conference in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam that a core team of 10 election analysts arrived in Dar es Salaam and on the Zanzibar Island since early September and will remain in the country as long-term observers until early November.
"Long-term observers have been following up the election preparations and the campaigns,"said Ms. Marques.
More delegates arrived in Dar es Salaam on Saturday and will be deployed on Tuesday in the rural and urban areas across the country, in preparation for the east African nation's Oct. 25 elections.
There will also be a delegation of six members of the European Parliament, she said.
The observers will follow the tabulation of results, which is a crucial part of the European Union Mission's overall assessment of the electoral process, said Marques.
Before their deployment, short-term observers will attend a comprehensive briefing on the electoral procedures, the legal framework for the elections and the political temperature.
The EU EOM has carried out its observation mission in Tanzania's previous elections and according to Marques, the country has not been able to implement some of the recommendations made by the mission after the 2010 elections.
"We recommended that the results of presidential candidates be challenged in court and that an independent national electoral commission should be established constitutionally," she said.
However, the Deputy Chief Observer noted that for the country to be able to implement the recommendations, it needed a new constitution in place.
"The EUEOM will release a report on the fact-finding mission after the electoral process has been completed. That will help us to compare the country's performance in the previous elections," said Marques.
Over 20 million out of a population of about 46 million Tanzanians will go to polls on Oct. 25 to elect the president, Members of Parliament and councillors.
John Magufuli, the presidential candidate for the ruling party of Chama Cha Mapinduzi, is facing fierce competition from Edward Lowassa of the leading opposition party of Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo.
