UN volunteers arrive in Comoros to observe presidential elections

Over 20 United Nations Volunteers from 10 countries have arrived in Comoros to help observe the run-up to Sunday's presidential elections and the final tabulation of the vote.

The UN Volunteers - from Belgium, Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom - will also liaise with election bodies to report on the conduct of the polls on the islands of Anjouan, Moheli and Grand Comoros.

UNV, the agency coordinating the volunteer effort, also helped the country prepare for a constitutional referendum held last December. Comoros, which has experienced political instability since independence from France in 1975 - including the 1997 unilateral declaration of independence by the island of Anjouan - has a government of national unity in place to oversee the transition to the 14 April presidential elections.

Created by the UN General Assembly in 1970 and administered by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UNV extends hands-on assistance for peace and development in 140 countries.