In accordance 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 Botswana had on 12th of April 2024 invited the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) to observe the country’s upcoming General Elections scheduled for the 30th of October 2024. These elections will determine the country’s 13th Parliament as well as elect local councils nationwide. There are a total of 61 seats in the National Assembly and 609 local council seats, all to be contested using first-past-the-post voting system.
In accordance with the SADC Guidelines, Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, has appointed Honourable Mizengo Kayanza Peter, former Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania as the Head of Mission (HoM) and mandated the SADC Secretariat led by His Excellency Mr Elias Mpedi Magosi, the Executive Secretary of SADC to coordinate the SEOM, including facilitation of in-country deployment of observers.
The SEOM will be deployed to all districts the Republic of Botswana to observe the pre 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 importance of acknowledging and respecting the election outcomes by all political entities.
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.
