The Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC Countries (ECF —SADC) received an invitation from the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) dated 12th March 2018 to observe the Tripartite Elections then scheduled for 21st May 2019. In line with its mandate of strengthening co-operation amongst Electoral Commissions in the SADC region, the ECF-SADC deployed an observer mission for these elections. This is the third time that the ECF — SADC has observed elections in the Republic of Malawi, the last being the 2014 Tripartite Elections held on 20th May 2014.

The ECF-SADC Election Observer Mission was led by Mr Irfan Abdool Rahman, the Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius. The Deputy Mission Leader was Dr Nomsa Masuku, a commissioner of the Electoral Commission of South Africa.  The Mission comprised twenty-one (21) observers from the Electoral Commissions of Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Mission commenced its work on 12th May 2019.

Please download the complete preliminary statement below