MUTATI

By RUTH TEMBO-

FORMER Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister, Felix Mutati will this month lead a delegation under the auspices of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to monitor general elections in Egypt.

Mr Mutati, who is a member of the COMESA committee of Elders and MMD Lunte Member of Parliament, would  lead the delegation to observe the first round of general elections in Egypt from May 26 to 27, 2014.

The delegation would observe the concluding stages of the pre-election activities, voting, vote counting, declaration of election results and the immediate post-election period.

Mr Mutati said he would hold discussions with key electoral stakeholders including the two presidential candidates, representatives from political parties, civil society, media and key electoral management institutions.

Mr Mutati made the announcement at a media briefing at the COMESA secretariat in Lusaka yesterday.  Speaking at the same function, Egyptian Ambassador to Zambia, Ragai Nasr said the presidential elections scheduled for this month end would be a major milestone in implementing the road map towards the restoration of the democratic path.

“I would like to assure you that Egypt is doing its best to pass the current situation, and we will soon be ready to carry on with the integration programmes that are being perfectly implemented under the supervision of the COMESA secretariat,” Mr Nasr said.

“We are also aware that all the people of COMESA states are keeping an eye on the situation in Egypt and watching how it will unfold,” he said.