Monitoring team pleased with electoral process

The Implementation and Monitoring Committee (IMC) of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Accord is satisfied with the electoral process underway in Burundi, committee Chairwoman Carolyn McAskie said on Monday. McAskie, who is the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Burundi, made the remarks when she opened the committee's 23rd session in the Burundian capital, Bujumbura. She said she was "confident that the referendum will be held as scheduled", in view of the preparations underway for the vote. The referendum was initially due for 26 November but was postponed to 22 December to allow for adequate preparations. During its two-day session, the committee is expected to discuss a declaration it plans to hand over to members of the UN Security Council expected to visit the country from Tuesday to Thursday. Ambassadors of the 15-member UN Security Council are touring the Great Lakes region with a view to emphasising the importance of stability and security, and to express support for the peace processes underway in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi, according to a statement issued at the weekly news conference of the UN Mission in Burundi (ONUB). The committee's session is also due to assess the government's and parliamentary activities regarding the electoral process; ceasefire agreements the government has signed with former rebel groups; demobilisation of ex-combatants; the repatriation of refugees; and the detention conditions of political prisoners. On the electoral process, the committee is due to listen to the ONUB head of elections unit, and also analyse a proposal of a system of overseeing the elections in the country.