SADC Launches 106-Member Observer Mission For August 13 Election

The Southern African Development Community has officially launched its Electoral Observation Mission for Zambia's 13 August General Election, deploying 106 observers drawn from ten member states across all ten provinces of the country.

Speaking at the launch in Lusaka on Wednesday, Head of Mission Samuel Tembenu, representing Malawian President Arthur Peter Mutharika in his capacity as Chair of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, said the Zambian government had invited SADC to observe the election as early as December 2025, allowing the bloc adequate time to prepare.

Tembenu said the mission draws personnel from Eswatini, Lesotho, Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. Observers begin their pre-election phase on Thursday, 7 August, and will monitor campaigning, voting day and ballot counting through to the post-election period.

He said the mission's work is guided by the Revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, and will assess areas including the independence and preparedness of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, the fairness of the constituency delimitation process, neutrality of security forces, media access for political parties, and the transparency of voting, counting and results procedures.

Tembenu urged registered voters to turn out on 13 August and called for peaceful, calm elections, appealing specifically to young Zambians to resist being used as tools for political violence or intimidation.The mission's Preliminary Statement on the election will be released on 15 August 2026 at 10:00 AM in Lusaka.