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Following her appointment by His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia and Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation on 20th May 2024, the Honourable Ms Justice Florence Mumba, Former Supreme Court Judge and Former Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of the Republic of Zambia arrived in Antananarivo, Madagascar on 22 March 2024, as the Head of Mission of the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) to the Legislative Elections in Madagascar. The Republic of Madagascar is scheduled to hold the polls on the 29th of May 2024.
The Honourable Justice Mumba officially launched the SEOM in Antananarivo, which was attended by various stakeholders including diplomatic missions, international organisations, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) of Madagascar, political parties, Civil Society Organisations (CSO), local and international elections observers and the media.
She underscored the significance of peaceful elections in the Republic of Madagascar, acknowledging that elections are crucial for advancing good governance and consolidating democracy, following the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021). She commended the Republic of Madagascar for its dedication to promoting peace through the conduct of Legislative Elections on 29th May 2024, highlighting that if the elections are conducted peacefully, they will undoubtedly contribute to the establishment of good governance for the consolidation of democracy.
Furthermore, she urged all registered voters in the Republic of Madagascar to exercise their civic and political rights by casting their votes while encouraging all stakeholders to ensure that these elections are conducted peacefully, freely, fairly, transparently, and credibly.
The SEOM will focus on observing the pre-election phase, including the campaigns, the voting day, and the ballot counting process.
The SEOM to the 2024 Legislative Elections in Madagascar comprises 58 personnel from 10 SADC Member States, namely: Republics of Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Kingdom of Eswatini, and the United Republic of Tanzania.
The SEOM has been present in Madagascar since 14th May 2024 and is expected to remain in the country until 4th June 2024 to accomplish the objective of conducting the Short-Term Observation (STO) of the Legislative Elections.