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Home / SADC election observers get down to work in SA
SADC election observers get down to work in SA
2014-04-29Mathias Haufiku WINDHOEK – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer team is already in South Africa ahead of that country’s national general elections slated to take place next week Wednesday. A total of 200 SADC election observers are expected to be deployed across all nine provinces of South Africa ahead of the polls. ”In deploying our observers we shall make no distinction between the rural and urban areas, potential hot spots of political contestation and the support base areas of any given political party. We commit to the neutrality and independence of the observers,” said acting head Mohlabi Kenneth Tsekoa, who lauded South Africa for the elaborate preparations to ensure the highest state of preparedness for the elections. Over 25 million South Africans have registered to vote in the upcoming provincial and national elections. Tsekoa said SADC is satisfied with the peaceful and orderly conduct of all political parties and other stakeholders to the elections so far. Tsekoa launched the mission on behalf of the chair of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, President Hifikepunye Pohamba, this past Saturday. Tsekoa who is Lesotho’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, vowed that the SADC Electoral Observation Mission to South Africa will cooperate with other like-minded local regional and international observer missions to contribute to the atmosphere of transparency that is required for South Africa to deliver credible elections. According to him the observer mission shall rely heavily on the cooperation of the people of South Africa in that regard. Speaking to New Era last week, South African High Commissioner to Namibia, Mavivi Myakayaka-Manzini said the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has approved 361 applications of South Africans who wish to cast special votes at the High Commission in Windhoek, while 10 were declined. “We have a lot of South Africans living in Namibia, but you find that some of them do not stay in Windhoek so it will be an effort to come and vote. But I hope those that have not registered to cast special votes will be voting at home,” she said. Myakayaka-Manzini also said this year’s elections are important for South Africa, because they will measure what the country has achieved since the demise of apartheid and what still needs to be done. By Mathias Haufiku 2014-04-29Mathias Haufiku
