The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) is troubled by the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) Preliminary Statement regarding the 2025 General Election in the United Republic of Tanzania. While the preliminary findings are not surprising, given the well-recorded repression in the build-up to the elections, this situation demands immediate and decisive action. The democratic aspirations of the people of Tanzania have been systematically undermined, and the collective credibility of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is now in jeopardy.
The preliminary findings of the SEOM confirm our deepest concerns, which we outlined to the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation before the elections, preceded by numerous letters communicated to both the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). The SEOM has tentatively concluded that, in most areas, voters were unable to express their democratic will, and that overall, the election fell short of meeting the requirements of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
“A failure by SADC to take decisive action when a member state violates regional instruments risks fundamentally denigrating the credibility of the organisation itself. This ultimately encourages similar anti-democratic practices in other countries, leading to increased instability and an erosion of public trust in regional bodies.”
A Culture of Defiance and the Collapse of Shared Values
The detailed accounts of pre-election repression, coupled with the chaos observed during the polls, demonstrate a profound failure on the part of Tanzania to adhere to the foundational values of the SADC Treaty, specifically Article 4, which mandates adherence to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Furthermore, current reports indicate that the country remains under a curfew due to ongoing protests and demonstrations against the elections, with access to information hindered and journalists barred from reporting on the heavy-handed approach of the armed forces.
The pre-election period, described by some stakeholders as bearing a calm that “belies covert acts of general intimidation of the population and opposition political parties and candidates,” set the stage for this collapse. We previously highlighted the systematic violations, including mass detentions, torture, enforced disappearances, and judicial harassment targeting opponents. This campaign culminated in the arrests and treason charges against opposition leader Mr Tundu Lissu and the widespread disqualification of opposition candidates, which the SEOM noted ‘created an uneven political playing field’. These exclusionary actions fundamentally contravene Article 4.1.7 of the SADC Principles and Guidelines, which demands an “environment of open contest with no undue exclusion”.
Furthermore, the post-election turmoil, characterised by reports of widespread unrest, hundreds dead and injured, and a crucial nationwide internet shutdown, which hampered both citizen communication and the SEOM’s ability to generate data, constitutes grave violations of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The ACHPR has correctly identified that such failures necessitate the ratification of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG). The continued defiance by Tanzania in not aligning with the spirit and values of ACDEG, and its blatant disregard for fundamental SADC commitments, should not be normalised. The constitutional provision barring courts from inquiring into Presidential election results (Article 41(7)) stands as a clear repudiation of the expected electoral justice enshrined in SADC Principle 4.1.5.
SADC’s Reluctance is the Collective’s Failure
We warned SADC that failure to address these issues risked normalising autocracy and despotism, thereby reversing hard-won democratic gains across the region. The fact that SADC observers were subjected to aggressive interrogation by security forces, had their documents seized, and were forced to delete mission-related photographs demonstrates a contemptuous disregard for the regional mandate, despite SADC’s guidelines requiring Member States to “[f]acilitate the observation of the entire electoral cycle”.
SADC’s continued reluctance to act decisively, particularly when abundant evidence exists detailing systematic repression from banning opposition parties to infringing media freedoms, only emboldens further repression.
The SADC Treaty, through its mechanisms, grants the Chairperson of the Organ the authority to bring to the attention of the SADC Summit any shortcomings in the application of the Principles and Guidelines. A failure to implement such essential mechanisms in the face of such overwhelming evidence of systematic breakdown can only be understood as a failure by the SADC collective itself. Allowing one member state to suppress opposition and manipulate elections risks the stability of neighbouring states and undermines public trust in our regional institutions.
Call for Decisive Intervention and Redress
This critical moment demands more than mere concern and solidarity; it necessitates immediate, coordinated action to defend civic freedoms and uphold democratic governance.
We call upon all SADC Member States to:
- Stop Turning a Blind Eye: Member States must acknowledge that the violations documented in the SEOM Preliminary Statement and in SALC’s prior submissions are numerous and unequivocally demonstrate that the Tanzanian government has failed to fulfil its regional obligations.
- Utilise All Necessary Tools to Intervene and Restore Political Calm: The SADC must immediately activate its highest-level mechanisms. This includes issuing a public statement condemning the crackdown, demanding the immediate release of detained opposition leaders and restoring all civil and political rights, including lifting bans on opposition activity.
- Ensure Fresh Elections Under Regional Supervision: Given the catastrophic failures documented by the SEOM, including violence, intimidation, and the inability of voters to express their will, the integrity of the October 2025 General Election has been fatally compromised. We therefore call on SADC Member States to ensure that fresh, credible elections are held under complete and comprehensive regional supervision and joint monitoring with bodies such as the African Union (AU) and East African Community (EAC).
Unless SADC Member States demonstrate the unwavering resolve necessary to uphold democracy and demand accountability, the principle of the rule of law risks becoming an empty shell across the region.
If the situation remains unaddressed, it risks normalising despotism across the region and weakening the collective commitment to democracy enshrined in SADC instruments, paving the way for the normalisation of autocracy and authoritarianism and potentially bolstering the resurgence of undemocratic government changes. This ultimately encourages similar anti-democratic practices in other countries, leading to increased instability and an erosion of public trust in regional bodies.
A failure by SADC to take decisive action when a member state violates regional instruments risks fundamentally denigrating the credibility of the organisation itself. Continued impunity for such violations will only embolden further repression, creating a dangerous precedent where member states can suppress opposition, curtail freedoms, and manipulate electoral processes without regional accountability.