ADDIS ABABA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) on Monday announced that former Prime Minister of Sao Tome and Principe, Joaquim Rafael Branco, will lead the AU's election observation mission to the Republic of Guinea-Bissau later this week.

The AU election observation mission is expected to observe Guinea-Bissau's legislative election, which is scheduled to be held on March 10.

The AU Election Observation Mission (AUEOM), which is led by Branco, comprised of 30 observers deployed to observe Guinea-Bissau's legislative election process from March 2 to 16, the AU said in a statement on Monday.

The overall objective is to contribute to the consolidation of democratic gains, peace and stability in Guinea-Bissau in particular and in Africa in general, according to the AU.

In December last year, the UN Security Council had urged political actors in Guinea-Bissau to demonstrate renewed good faith to hold "free and fair" elections for the country to break the cycle of instability.

In a statement, the Security Council expressed "regret" that the country did not hold elections as planned on Nov. 18 and voiced "deep concern" over preparations for the polls rescheduled for March 10, 2019.