The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has deployed 80 election observers from 10 member states to monitor Tanzania’s 29 October general elections, though four regions will not be covered due to logistical constraints.

Head of the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM), former Malawi Chief Justice Richard Msowoya, said observers will be stationed across 27 of the country’s 31 regions, excluding Mtwara, Shinyanga, Tabora, and Tanga. The team includes representatives from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Msowoya said the mission’s mandate covers pre-election, election-day, and post-election activities — from campaign monitoring to vote counting — and pledged impartiality in its work. He urged citizens and political actors to ensure a peaceful, transparent, and credible process as 18 of Tanzania’s 19 registered parties contest in what is expected to be a closely fought election.