Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and
European Neighbourhood Policy, said: “The EU has followed closely the
reform process in Bolivia. An EU EOM was deployed in 2006 to observe the
elections to the Constitutional Assembly and the Referendum on Regional
Autonomy. During 2007 and 2008, the process has not always been smooth and I am
happy that finally a consensus was achieved, allowing the organisation of this
referendum. I hope the presence of the EU EOM will contribute to the
transparency of the process and the enhancement of public confidence. I also
hope the campaign for this referendum will allow a real discussion on the
contents of the new Constitution and help Bolivia's citizens to make a reasoned
choice”.

The EU EOM Core team will consist of the Chief Observer and six experts who
will arrive during the last week of December. The EOM core team will accompany
the whole process, until the official proclamation of results of the Referendum.
The EU EOM will liaise with the country’s national electoral authority
(the Corte Nacional Electoral), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all key
players in the election process, including national and international observers.
The EU EOM will be completed by 22 long-term observers (LTOs) who will be
deployed throughout all the departments of the country to follow the campaign
period and pre-referendum preparations, as well as voting day and the
post-referendum period. Some members of the European Parliament will join the
EU EOM around the day of the referendum.

Election Observation Missions are an important instrument for building
confidence in the democratic processes of a country and are deployed in line
with the EU’s commitment to promote democracy, human rights and respect
for the rule of law. EU Election Observation Missions are independent and
professional, and for this reason their findings are widely seen as credible and
trustworthy.

The EU is making available €1.4 million, from the European Initiative
for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), to meet the cost of deploying this
mission.

EU Election Assistance & Observation

href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/human_rights/eu_election_ass_observ/index.htm">http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/human_rights/eu_election_ass_observ/index.htm

European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights

href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/projects/eidhr/index_en.htm">http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/projects/eidhr/index_en.htm

The EU's relations with Bolivia

href="http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/bolivia/intro/index.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/bolivia/intro/index.htm

The EU’s relations with Latin America

href="http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/la/index_en.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/la/index_en.htm