9th November 2023, Gaborone, Botswana: In line with Article 3 of the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021), SADC shall observe all general elections held in its Member States. As per the standard practice, the Government of the Republic of Madagascar had on 2nd of March 2023 invited the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) to observe the country’s First and Second Round Presidential Elections, scheduled for the 9th of November 2023 and the 20th December 2023, respectively. To this end, the First Round of the Presidential Elections will be held on the 16th of November 2023. In this elections, thirteen (13) candidates are contesting for the position of President of the Republic of Madagascar.
In accordance with the SADC Guidelines, His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia, and Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, appointed Brig. General Godfrey Miyanda, 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.
The SEOM will be deployed to all six (6) Provinces of the Republic of Madagascar to observe the pre and post-election phases and the polling day. The Mission's objective is to assess the conduct of the elections in accordance with the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections of (2021). These principles emphasise the importance of citizen participation in the democratic and development processes, the implementation of measures to prevent political violence, intimidation, and intolerance, and the promotion of equal opportunities for all political parties to access the State Media and for all citizens to access information. Furthermore, the Mission emphasises the significance of acceptance and respect for the election results by all political parties.
To promote electoral integrity, electoral justice, good governance, peace and stability in the SADC region, and to give effect to the commitment contained in the SADC Principles and Guidelines, the Launch of SEOM will include various election awareness activities for the electoral stakeholder to learn and appreciate the work of the SEOM.
