VICTORIA, Seychelles — The SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) to the Presidential and National Assembly Elections of Seychelles consists of 79 personnel drawn from eight SADC member states, namely the Republics of Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the United Republic of Tanzania and the Kingdom of Eswatini.
The observers will focus on the pre-election, election and post-election periods, which include the campaigns, polling day and the counting of ballot papers. The team arrived in Seychelles on September 9, 2025, and will remain in the country until October 4, 2025, to observe the elections in accordance with the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021).
Before deployment, the observers underwent a four-day training session from September 14 to 17, 2025, to familiarise themselves with Seychelles’ electoral process. Consistent with the revised principles and guidelines, the deployment was preceded by a Pre-Election Assessment Goodwill Mission of the SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC) from June 30 to July 8, 2025.
As part of its mandate, the SEOM is engaging with a wide range of stakeholders. The Head of Mission, Justice Andrew Nyirenda, supported by members of the SADC Organ Troika, SEAC and the SADC Secretariat, has met with the Electoral Commission of Seychelles, the Attorney General and the chairperson of the Association for Rights, Information and Democracy (Arid). The mission is also scheduled to meet political parties, independent candidates, civil society and faith-based organisations, before issuing a preliminary statement shortly after the close of polls.
