Media release
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer
25 May 2000
FA55
Zimbabwe Elections: Australian Observers
I am delighted to announce that Ms Julie Bishop MP and Senator Sandy Macdonald will participate in the Commonwealth Observer Group that has been assembled by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Don McKinnon, to observe the Zimbabwe Parliamentary elections set for 24-25 June. Ms Bishop has been selected to participate in the Advance Team of 6 Commonwealth observers that will arrive in Zimbabwe on 29 May.
I am also pleased to announce that Australia will contribute AUD150,000 towards the cost of sending the Commonwealth Observer Group to Zimbabwe. The Commonwealth has extensive experience in observing national elections and I am therefore confident it will manage its mission in Zimbabwe effectively. I am considering other ways in which we might be able to assist this Commonwealth exercise.
Being able to participate in free and democratic political processes is a right that all citizens of the Commonwealth should share: this was reaffirmed by all Commonwealth Heads of Government when they met in Harare in 1991. Against this background, I have taken note of the assurance given by President Mugabe to the Commonwealth Secretary -General that he has called for an end to violence and will continue to do everything possible to restore normality to Zimbabwe.
The team that has been assembled by the Rt Hon Don McKinnon will be headed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Nigeria's former Head of State who oversaw the restoration of democracy in that country last year. The Commonwealth Observer Group will include 32 observers from a cross
Ms Bishop is a member of many Parliamentary Committees including the House Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. She also serves on the Government Policy Committee on Trade and Foreign Affairs and represents Western Australia on the Parliamentary Advisory Group for National Issues Affecting Women. Ms Bishop's participation in the Advance Team will conclude on 9 June when she will be replaced on the Commonwealth Observer Group by New South Wales Senator Sandy Macdonald.
Senator Macdonald is a member of the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, and the Government Policy Committee on Trade and Foreign Affairs. He was an official Australian observer at the national elections held in Indonesia last year.
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