Former Tanzanian Chief Justice Mohammed Chande Othman is heading the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) for Mauritius’ upcoming National Assembly elections.
Othman arrived in the Mauritian capital Port Louis on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s official launch of the mission.
Othman’s appointment as head of mission was made by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan who is also current chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
The Botswana-based SADC Secretariat said in a statement on Tuesday that the SADC election observers completed a four-day pre-deployment training programme from November 1 to 4 in preparation for the launch of the mission.
“The observers will be deployed to all the 10 administrative districts of the Republic of Mauritius, of which nine are located on the mainland of Mauritius, and the tenth district is the Island of Rodriques,” the regional body said.
This training equipped observers, drawn from nine SADC member states, with essential knowledge about Mauritius’ political and security landscape, as well as the constitutional and electoral frameworks guiding the elections.
The training was facilitated by the SADC Secretariat in collaboration with the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa.
The parliamentary elections are set for November 10, with Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth seeking a second term in power.
