SADC Organ Chairperson deploys the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) to the National Assembly Elections of the Republic of Mauritius scheduled for 10th November 2024

Following Article 3 of the revised Southern African Development Community (SADC) Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021), 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 Mauritius invited the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) to observe the country’s upcoming National Assembly Elections scheduled for the 10th of November 2024. 

The Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, has deployed the SEOM to the National Assembly Elections in Mauritius and appointed Honourable Mohammed Othman Chande, Former Chief Justice of the United Republic of Tanzania, as the Head of Mission. The SADC Organ Chairperson has also mandated the SADC Secretariat led by His Excellency Mr. Elias Mpedi Magosi, SADC Executive Secretary, to coordinate the SEOM, including facilitating in-country deployment of election observers.

The SADC Secretariat personnel arrived in Port Louis on 28th October to commence work. The SEOM will be deployedto all the ten administrative districts of the country, of which nine (9) are located on the mainland of Mauritius, and the tenth district is the Island of Rodriques. The SEOM will observe the country’s pre-election phase, polling day, and post-election processes to assess the conduct of the elections per the principles and guidelines that promote regular, free, fair, transparent, credible, and peaceful democratic elections. 

Among the key activities, the SEOM will consult with a broad range of electoral stakeholders to gain a deeper understanding of, among other things, the political and security environment relative to the electoral process.

The following are some of the key activities for the SEOM in the Republic of Mauritius; 

Enquiries: 

For enquiries please contact, Mr. Terry Rose, Senior Officer - Politics and Diplomacy, email: trose@sadc.int, Ms. Barbara Lopi, Head of Communication and Public Relations, email: blopi@sadc.int, Mr. Innocent Mbvundula, Communication and Relations Officer (External) email: imbvundula@sadc.int, with a copy to email prinfo@sadc.int.

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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. 

Issued by the SADC Secretariat   

01 November 2024 

Gaborone, Botswana