Southern Africa: SADC Deploys the Electoral Observation Mission to the 2025 Presidential and National Assembly Elections in the Republic of Seychelles

Daily Trust
Former president Peter Mutharika and President Lazarus Chakwera are the front runner
9 September 2025
Southern African Development Community (Gaborone)
document

As contained in Article 3 of the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) shall observe all General Elections held in its Member States. Therefore, SADC is deploying Electoral Observation Mission to observe the 2025 Presidential and National Assembly Elections in the Republic of Seychelles.

In line with their five-year electoral cycle, the Republic of Seychelles will hold Presidential and National Assembly Elections from 25th - 27th September 2025. H.E. Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi, and Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, has assigned the SADC Secretariat to coordinate the deployment of the SADC Electoral Observation Mission for a Short-Term Observer mission within the country in line with Article 3 of the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021), which provides that SADC shall observe all general elections held in its Member States.

The SADC Secretariat and observers will arrive in Seychelles from 9th September 2025, with the Mission lasting until 4th October 2025. The Official Launch of SEOM Seychelles will be held on 18th September 2025 and the release of the SEOM Preliminary Statement will take place on 29th September 2025, both at the Eden Bleu Hotel on Mahe Island where the SEOM Headquarters will be based.

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

The SEOM to Seychelles will observe the pre- and post-election phases as well as the polling day. The Mission's key objective is to assess the conduct of the elections against the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021). These principles emphasise, amongst others, the importance of citizen participation in the democratic and development processes, the implementation of measures to promote free and fair elections, equal access to the government-owned Media by all political parties and the significance of acceptance and respect for the election results by all political parties.

As part of its mandate, the SEOM Leadership and observers will engage a variety of election-related stakeholders on Mahe, Praslin and La Digue during the deployment period. The SADC Secretariat will also facilitate a Pre-Deployment Refresher Training for the observers ahead of their official sending off to the country's respective Districts.

The following are some of the key activities for the SEOM in the Republic of Seychelles.

  • Arrival of the Observers, Troika, and the SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC) on 12th September 2025
  • Official launch of the SEOM to the 2025 Presidential and National Assembly Elections in the Republic of Seychelles on 18th September 2025 (Open to both the Public and the Media).
  • Election Day (Field Observations) on 25th to 27th September 2025.
  • Release of the SEOM Preliminary Statement on the 2025 Presidential and National Assembly Elections in the Republic of Seychelles on 29th September 2025.

Read the original article on SADC.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2025 Southern African Development Community. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 120 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.