SADC praises TZ’s pre-election calm

DAR ES SALAAM: THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) Election Observation Mission (SEOM) has expressed satisfaction with the prevailing peace, security and stability in Tanzania as the country prepares for the General Election scheduled for next week.

The Mission said it hopes the positive atmosphere will be maintained throughout and beyond the electoral period. SEOM Head of Mission, Richard Msowoya made the remarks in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday during the official launch of the Mission in Tanzania ahead of the General Election scheduled for October 29, this year.

Mr Msowoya, a former Speaker of the Parliament of Malawi, was appointed as Head of SEOM by the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, President Arthur Peter Mutharika of Malawi.

He urged all stakeholders to ensure that the election is conducted in a peaceful, free, fair, transparent and credible manner. He also expressed the mission’s expectation that the electoral process will uphold domestic democratic values and principles.

“We look forward to an electoral process that adheres to the democratic values and principles enshrined in the SADC Treaty, the Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation and the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections,” said Mr Msowoya.

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He further encouraged all registered voters to exercise their civic and political rights by turning out to vote on polling day.

Mr Msowoya added that SEOM will consult various stakeholders, including political parties participating in the election, to ensure impartiality and objectivity in the observation process.

He noted that SEOM observers will be deployed to 27 out of the country’s 31 regions, except for Mtwara, Shinyanga, Tabora and Tanga, due to logistical and capacity constraints.

According to Mr Msowoya, the mission comprises 80 personnel drawn from 10 Member States, including the Kingdoms of Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

“The SEOM observations will cover the pre-election, election and post-election periods. This includes monitoring the campaigns, polling day activities and the vote counting process,” he explained.

Speaking on behalf of the SADC Secretariat, Senior Officer on Politics and Diplomacy, Terry Rose, said the SEOM will engage key electoral stakeholders to obtain a broad range of perspectives and better understand how the election is being conducted.

He added that the SADC Secretariat will facilitate the consultations between stakeholders and the SEOM leadership, while observers will interact directly with stakeholders across the country.

Meanwhile, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Ambassador Said Shaibu Mussa, welcomed the SEOM to Tanzania and expressed appreciation for the peaceful and calm manner in which political campaigns have been conducted so far.

He said the positive atmosphere sends a strong message to the mission. Furthermore, Ambassador Mussa said that through its observation role, the mission will signify the presence of democracy in Tanzania’s electoral process.