15 July 2013 - The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau, José Ramos-Horta, on Monday, 15 July 2013, met with the Transitional President, Serifo Nhamadjo to share with him preliminary conclusions of the electoral Needs Assessment Mission (NAM), present in the country since 3 July 2013.

At a press conference marking the end of the mission, José Ramos-Horta acknowledged the political will among Bissau-Guinean stakeholders and notably the Transitional President, the transitional Prime Minister and the two major political parties to hold elections on 24 November this year, as scheduled.

Also present at the press conference was Akinyemi Adegbola, senior officer in the Electoral Assistance Division of the Department of Political Affairs, UN Secretariat, who led the mission.

On biometric registration which has been advocated by the transitional authorities and some political parties, the top UN official in Guinea-Bissau recognized that this would be a step forward in modernizing the state. However, he noted that President Nhamadjo has not made it a condition for holding elections. In the words of SRSG Ramos-Horta it is a "time consuming and costly" choice that should be considered after transition period. Taking into account the short time frame for the transition, it is advisable to opt for an "enhanced manual"- registration, SRSG Ramos-Horta explained.

On UN support for the 24 November elections, Akinyemi Adegbola stressed that: "the UN is willing to assist Guinea-Bissau, as part of its support to the transition, adding that the UN sees this as a moral responsibility. The UN has been assisting Guinea-Bissau over the years, through a period of recurrent crises and is committed to continue to do so, in partnership with other members of the international community.

"The Transitional President's request to UN was for technical and financial support. We have wide experience in supporting electoral processes around the world, and will partner with other international organizations and countries to meet the financial needs of the process, based on a realistic budget".

On the holding of general elections on 24 November, the UN electoral expert stated that "for us, it is important that the date has been set. It is now necessary for all actors to work together to meet this schedule; The purpose of the NAM is to evaluate the pre-electoral environment ahead of the presidential and legislative elections planned for November 2013, which is expected to end the transition period and ensure the restoration of constitutional order. It will make proposals to UN Headquarters on possible areas of support to Guinea-Bissau.

The NAM is deployed by the UN Focal Point for Electoral Assistance following the request for UN electoral support from the Transitional President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, in his letter dated 8 May 2013. It should be recalled that Security Council Resolution 2103 (2013), requests the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) to "assist in creating an environment conducive to the holding of free, fair and transparent elections" in the country.

The NAM ends on 16 July 2013.