Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) the EU and (b) the government of the Gambia on the government of the Gambia's decision to refuse EU observers access to elections due to be held on 1 December 2016 in that country.

The refusal of the Electoral Experts Mission was discussed by officials in Brussels on 16 November. The Ambassador also stressed the importance of free and fair elections in a meeting with the Gambian Foreign Minister on 15 November. Our Ambassador and his team will also be following the election closely with other diplomatic missions on the ground. We will urge the African Union and Economic Community of West African States to monitor the situation closely.