At the invitation of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) of Tanzania the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Mr Kamalesh Sharma, constituted an Observer Group for the 31 October General Elections. In line with usual practice, the Secretary-General sent an Assessment Mission to Tanzania to assess the prevailing situation as well as the pre-electoral environment, prior to his final decision on whether to constitute a Commonwealth Observer Group. The Assessment Mission was in the country from 13-19 September 2010.