Annex 2: Arrival Press Statement Arrival Statement of the Eminent Persons Observer Mission 26 July 2018 – Harare - The Eminent Persons Observer Mission under the Election Support Network of Southern Africa (ESN-Southern Africa) hereby announces its arrival in Zimbabwe to observe the July 30th 2018 harmonized elections. The Mission is headed by the former Secretary General of SADC Dr. Tomaz Salamao, from Mozambique. The mission is comprised of 23 Eminent Persons from the Southern African region. Members of the observer mission include Ms. Priscilla Isaacs, former Chief Executive Officer of the Zambia Election Commission and Fr Fidelis Mukonori of Zimbabwe. The mission will deploy the observers to observe the last phases of the pre-election, the election and the post-election period in nine provinces of Zimbabwe from the 25th of July to 1 August 2018. The ESN-Southern Africa is a regional network of fifteen non-governmental organisations working in the area of elections in the South African Development Community region through networking with domestic observer groups. It aims at building the capacity of individual members and establishing regional best practices through mutual reinforcement and dialogue. The Mission is guided by International Standards Governing Elections; the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance; SADC Principles on Democratic Elections; and Principles of Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC region (PEMMO). In addition, the Mission is guided by principles of freeness, fairness, credibility and integrity. During our stay in the country, the Mission will meet all relevant stakeholders in order to obtain a balanced view of the political environment, electoral processes, electoral preparedness and the elections. The Mission will take a view whether the elections have been conducted in accordance with international and regional norms and standards to which Zimbabwe has committed itself, including its own laws. Page 36