President lambastes EU observers report

President Irfaan Ali yesterday tore into the final report of the European Union Election Observer Mission (EU EOM) as “completely biased” and rejected its assertions that his government had used the launching of public projects to boost its electoral fortunes.

The final report presented on Tuesday by Chief Observer and Member of the European Parlia-ment,  Robert Biedroń said that while voting  was peaceful and well run an uneven playing field had been created for the incumbent and that this should be addressed by strict campaigning rules.

A preliminary report by the EU EOM on Septem-ber 3rd had also referenced the government’s use of incumbency and the state machinery to its advantage and its reinforcement in the final report appears to have incensed Ali as it called in question whether the election had been fair and conducted on a level playing field.

While he had expected to present the final report to Ali yesterday,  Biedroń instead presented it to Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd.