In line with the five-year electoral cycle of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Member State will hold Presidential, Legislative and Provincial Elections on 20 December 2023. This is in line with Article 3 of the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021), which provides that SADC shall observe all general elections held in its Member States. In accordance with the SADC Guidelines, His Excellency (H.E.) Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia, and Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, appointed Mr. Enoch Kavindele, former Vice President of the Republic of Zambia as the Head of Mission (HoM) and mandated the SADC Secretariat to coordinate the SEOM, including facilitation of in-country deployment of observers. H.E. further appointed Ambassador Lazarous Kapambwe as the Alternate Head of Mission.
