The African Union Commission (AUC) announces the arrival of the joint African Union (AU) Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Election Observation Mission (EOM), for the 23 August 2023 Harmonized Elections in the Republic of Zimbabwe. At the invitation of the Government of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, His Excellency Moussa Faki Mahamat, approved the deployment of the joint short-term AU-COMESA EOM to assess and report on the conduct of this election.

The joint EOM is led by H.E. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in collaboration with Rt. Hon. Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda and Member of the COMESA Committee of Elders.  It is comprised of 86 (Eighty Six) Short Term Observers (STOs) drawn from Ambassadors accredited to the African Union, Officials of Election Management Bodies, members of African civil society organisations, African election experts, Human Rights specialists, gender and media experts, and representatives of youth organizations. The observers are drawn from 23 countries which include Benin, Botswana, CAR, Djibouti, Liberia, Libya, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. Observers will be deployed to all 10(Ten) Provinces 16(Sixteen) electoral districts in Zimbabwe.

The EOM will base its assessment on the legal framework governing elections in the Republic of Zimbabwe and the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections, the standards and obligations stipulated in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation (PEMMO), COMESA Elections Observation Guidelines and the International Declaration of Principles (DoP) for International Election Observation among others. The assessment will be based on the electoral process's regularity, transparency, equity, and fair conduct.

The Mission shall interact with state authorities, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission political parties, the media, civil society organisations and representatives of the international community. The Mission will equally interact with other election observation missions deployed to observe the 2023 Harmonized Elections in Zimbabwe.

The Mission will release a Preliminary Statement of its overall findings and assessment of the conduct of elections on 25 August 2023 in a Press Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe. A final and comprehensive Report will be released within two months from the date of announcement of final election results and will be posted on the AU Commission and COMESA websites.

The Mission’s Secretariat is located at Rainbow Towers, Harare, Zimbabwe.  For more information about the Mission and its activities, please contact: Mr. Samuel Atuobi| AUEOM Coordinator| Email Atuobis@africa-union.org: | Mobile: +251912613932.

Harare, 19 August 2023