SADC ELECTORAL OBSERVER MISSION (SEOM) TO THE

BY

It gives me pleasure to welcome you to the occasion where you bear witness to the ceremony marking the deployment of SADC Electoral Observer Mission to observe the 2009 General Elections in the Republic of Mozambique.

On behalf of the Executive Secretary of SADC, Dr. Augusto Tomaz Salomao, and indeed on my own behalf, I would like to express our great appreciation for gracing this event through your presence here today.

In their collective resolve and commitment to achieving the desire and vision towards a common future, SADC Member States developed and adopted the Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. The development of the Principles Governing Democratic Elections is aimed at enhancing the transparency and credibility of elections and democratic governance as well as ensuring the acceptance of election results by all contesting parties. The Principles also cherishes full participation and equal opportunities for all citizens to participate in the political process.

It is against this background that we are gathering here today, following the invitation by the people and Government of the Republic of Mozambique to come and witness them exercising their inalienable and democratic rights through the electoral process.

In line with the provisions of the SADC Principles Governing Democratic Elections, the Deputy Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, His Excellency Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda, President of the Republic of Zambia mandated the Executive Secretary of SADC to invite all Member States to constitute a team of observers to the elections in the Republic of Mozambique.

While the SADC Diplomatic Missions accredited to the Republic of Mozambique have been playing their obvious role of long term observation and simultaneously acted as an advance team prior to the final deployment of the SADC Observer Mission, the Mission has a sizeable number of observers which is in a position to cover and perform observation duties in all provinces of the Republic of Mozambique.

The mission will extensively cover political and other electoral related activities in the country before, during and after the voting date. In an endeavour to confirm reliability and validity of its findings, the SADC Electoral observers will confer and cross check and compare notes with other observer missions operating in the same environment.

It is also important to note that during observation, members of the Mission have to hold consultative meetings with various stakeholders in their areas of deployment, including electoral authorities, political parties, candidates as well as local authorities, just to mention but a few.

After the observation exercise, we will come together again for the Mission to communicate its findings.

In conclusion, I wish to announce that the SADC Electoral Observer Mission has established a fully fledged office located at;-

Hotel Cardoso

707 Avenida Martires de Mueda

Maputo

With these remarks, it is now my honour to introduce and invite the Head of the SADC Electoral Observer Mission to the 2009 General Elections in Mozambique, Honourable Kabinga Pande, MP., Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Zambia who is also the representative of His Excellency, Mr. Rupiah Bwezani Banda, President of the Republic of Zambia and Deputy Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, to now officially launch the Mission.

I Thank You!

18 October 2009