Regional Observer Mission to the Tanzania 2005 General Elections

Note: 2005 Elections
The Elections on mainland Tanzania have been postponed due to the death of opposition vice-presidential candidate Jumbe Rajab Jumbe. The elections will now take place on December 14, 2005 (not December 18 as previously announced by NEC).
EISA will be sending a technical team to witness the polling. The team will arrive in Dar es Salaam on December 10, 2005.

EISA hereby launches its Regional Election Observer Mission for the upcoming General Elections due to be held in Tanzania on 30 October 2005. Leading the delegation is Mr Leshele Thoahlane, Chairperson of the Lesotho Electoral Commission. The mission will be composed of 27 members drawn from civil society organisations, election management bodies and academic institutions from various SADC countries, namely Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The mission is expected to arrive in Dar-Es-Salaam on October 23 2005 in order to hold a series of meetings with election stakeholders, including the Tanzania Electoral Commission (TEC), political parties, CSOs and academics, ahead of the election day. The mission will remain in the country until 2 November 2005 after observing the voting and counting processes as well as the immediate post-polling activities. The mission will cover selected rural and urban areas in the mainland of Tanzania.

In assessing the elections, EISA will be using the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO). It should be recalled that these principles were adopted in November 2003 and were drafted in consultation with all electoral commissions in the SADC region as well as civil society organisations (CSOs) who work in the field of elections. PEMMO provides the region with an objective basis in terms of which to conduct and assess elections.

EISA is a regional non-governmental organisation established in 1996, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Its mission is to strengthen electoral processes, good governance, human rights and democratic values in the SADC region and beyond through research, capacity building, advocacy and other targeted interventions. EISA services governments, electoral commissions, political parties, civil society organisations and other institutions operating in the democracy and governance fields in the SADC region.