Honourable Justice Andrew K. C. Nyirenda, former Chief Justice of Malawi, officially launched the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) in Mahe, Seychelles, on 20 September 2025. His appointment as Head of Mission was made by Malawi’s President, Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, who currently chairs the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
The mission will observe the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Seychelles, scheduled for 25 to 27 September 2025. The launch ceremony was attended by representatives of the Electoral Commission of Seychelles, political parties, civil society organisations, members of the diplomatic corps, international observers, senior government officials, and the media.
Justice Nyirenda said the mission would assess the conduct of the elections using the revised 2021 SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. These principles include citizen participation, human rights, freedom of association, assembly and expression, adherence to electoral laws, and measures against corruption, violence, and intimidation. Equal access to state media and information for all political parties is also part of the evaluation criteria.
He urged voters in Seychelles to turn out and exercise their democratic rights and encouraged all stakeholders to ensure that the elections are peaceful, credible, and transparent in line with regional democratic values and commitments under the SADC Treaty and the Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
Professor Kula I. Theletsane, Director of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs at the SADC Secretariat, said the mission reflects the region’s collective goal of strengthening democracy and good governance as part of SADC’s broader integration agenda. He also commended member states that deployed observers across the region.
The Seychelles mission consists of 79 observers drawn from eight SADC member states, including Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Eswatini. They will be deployed across 25 districts to monitor the pre-election, election, and post-election periods, covering campaigns, polling days, and vote counting.
The observer team arrived in Seychelles on 9 September and will remain in the country until 4 October 2025.
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