Following Article 3 of the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) shall observe all General Elections held in its Member States. As per the standard practice of observing General Elections in the SADC Member States, the Government of the Republic of Malawi had on 9th December 2024 invited the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) to observe the country’s upcoming General Election (Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections) scheduled for the 16th of September 2025.
The Incoming Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, His Majesty King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini, has deployed the SEOM to the 2025 General Elections in the Republic of Malawi and appointed Right Honourable Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku, Former Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Eswatini as the Head of Mission, and mandated the SADC Secretariat led by His Excellency Mr. Elias Mpedi Magosi, the SADC Executive Secretary, to coordinate the SEOM deployment to Malawi, including facilitating in-country deployment of election observers.
The SADC Secretariat support team arrived in Lilongwe on 1st September 2025 to prepare logistics for the Mission. The SEOM will be deployed to all the twenty eight (28) districts of the country. The SEOM will observe the country’s pre-election phase, polling day, and post-election processes to assess the conduct of the elections in line with the principles and guidelines that promote regular, free, fair, transparent, credible, and peaceful democratic elections.
Among the key activities, the SEOM will undertake consultations with a broad range of key electoral stakeholders such as the Malawi Electoral Commission, relevant Government Departments, Political parties, Diplomatic Community, CSOs and NGOs, Women and Youth Organisations etc., in order to gain deeper understanding of amongst other, the political and security context, the Constitutional and Legal Framework governing the elections, preparedness and readiness of the MEC to conduct the 2025 General Election.
The following are some of the key activities for the SEOM in the Republic of Malawi.
ACTIVITY | |
|---|---|
1st September 2025 | Arrival of the SADC Secretariat Support Team in Malawi |
4th September 2025 | Arrival of the Observers, Troika and SEAC |
10th September, 2025
| Official launch of the SEOM to the General Election in the Republic of Malawi (Open to the Public and Media) |
16th September, 2025 | Election Day (Field Observations) |
18th September, 2025
| Release of the SEOM Preliminary Statement on the 16th September 2025 General Election in the Republic of Malawi (Open to the Public and Media) |
Closure of the SEOM Headquarters |
Enquiries:
For enquiries please contact, Mr. Magabolle Mafiri, Coordinator of the SEOM in Malawi, email: mmafiri@sadc.int, Ms. Barbara Lopi, Head of Communication and Public Relations, email: blopi@sadc.int, Mr. Innocent Mbvundula, Communication and External Relations email: imbvundula@sadc.int, with a copy to email prinfo@sadc.int.
For all the updates about the activities of SEOM in the Republic of Malawi, follow the SADC official online and social media platforms as follows:
Website: www.sadc.int
YouTube: @SADCnews
Facebook: @SADC
𝕏 Twitter: @SADC_News
LinkedIn: Southern African Development Community (SADC)
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About SADC
SADC is an organisation of 16 Member States established in 1980 as the Southern African Development Coordinating Conference (SADCC) and later, in August,1992 transformed into the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The mission of SADC is to promote sustainable and equitable economic growth and socio-economic development through efficient, productive systems, deeper cooperation and integration, good governance and durable peace and security; so that the region emerges as a competitive and effective player in international relations and the world economy. SADC Member States are Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
