Following an invitation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Electoral Commissions Forum, has deployed an Observation Mission to the United Republic of Tanzania to observe the General Elections scheduled for 29 October 2025. The ECF-SADC election observer mission is led by the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa – Mr Mosotho Moepya.

The mission comprises twenty-two short-term observers from eight Election Management Bodies of the SADC region namely the IEC- Botswana, EBC-Eswatini, IEC -Lesotho, MEC-Malawi, CNE-Mozambique, ECN-Namibia, IEC- South Africa and ECZ-Zambia. The Mission is based at the Southern Sun Hotel, Dar Es Salaam and will be in the country until 2nd November 2025.

The Terms of Reference of the ECF-SADC election observer mission include assessment of the preparedness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Tanzania and Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC ) to conduct elections; observe the pre-election environment; observe the conduct of the election itself; and evaluate the electoral process and make recommendations that will contribute to the improvement of electoral management in the United Republic of Tanzania . The assessment and observations of the Mission are guided by the values of impartiality, neutrality, transparency, and objectivity as well as Regional and International benchmarks and the legal framework for elections in the United Republic of Tanzania.

The mission will further engage with stakeholders, including the INEC Tanzania and ZEC, political parties, civil society organisations, academia, faith-based organisations, media and the citizens of United Republic of Tanzania. This inclusive approach will ensure that the Mission’s assessment is comprehensive and reflective of the experiences of all Tanzanians.

The ECF-SADC election observer mission will issue a statement of its preliminary assessment of the elections on a date to be confirmed and will release a final and comprehensive report within 30 days after the end of the process.

To know more about the ECF-SADC kindly visit www.ecfsadc.org .Further enquiries can be made to the Mission Communications and Media contacts at the following:

Ms Lone Phineas lphineas@ecfsadc.org , +267 76984879 (WhatsApp)
Mr Mothusi Moapare mmoapare@ecfsadc.org +267 71240410 (WhatsApp)