25 Sep 2013

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Election Observer Mission (SEOM) has declared the September 20, Swaziland elections as orderly and peaceful.

A news release from SADC stated that SEOM had come to the conclusion that although some of the concerns raised during elections were pertinent, they were nevertheless not of such magnitude as to affect the overall electoral process. The mission noted the high state of preparedness on the part of the Election and Boundaries Commission (EBC) and conduct of the electoral process.

The release stated that in line with SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections and the Electoral laws of the Kingdom of Swaziland, the mission urged all candidates to respect the will of the people.

“In the event of any grievances, the SEOM advises all candidates to seek redress in line with the relevant laws of the Kingdom of Swaziland,” the release stated. The release further stated that SEOM had deployed 24 teams of observers in the four regions of Swaziland.

The teams were given the responsibility to cover their areas of deployment so that the mission could obtain a comprehensive understanding of the electoral process in the country and be in a position to provide an informed opinion. The release stated that SEOM deployed 90 observers from nine  SADC member states being Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The team comprised members of parliament, political and electoral experts, civil servants, and members of the civil society. The activities of the mission were coordinated at the Operations Centre, which was staffed with officials from the Troika of the Organ and the SADC Secretariat.

The mission, however noted and observed some of the best practices such as the use of Biometric Technology for registration, improved security features on the ballot papers and coding of ballot papers to Tikhundla and regions. ENDS