The African Union (AU) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) announce the arrival in Malawi of the election observation mission (AU-COMESA EOM) to the 16 September 2025 General Elections in the Republic of Malawi. This Mission is at the invitation of the Government of Malawi and the Malawi Electoral Commission.
The AU-COMESA EOM is led by H.E Hailemariam Desalegn BOTCHE, former Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia and assisted by Amb. Ashraf Rashed, Chair of the COMESA Committee of Elders. The Mission comprises 65 short-term observers (STOs) drawn from ambassadors accredited to the AU and COMESA, officials of election management bodies, members civil society organisations, election experts, human rights specialists, gender and media experts, and representatives of youth organizations.
The observers are drawn from Botswana, Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Comoros, Djibouti, DRC, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The observers will be deployed to all 03 regions in Malawi where they will observe the election day procedures including the opening of polls, voting, closing and the counting processes at the polling stations.
The AUEOM will base its assessment on the legal framework governing elections in the Malawi 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 (ACDEG), and the International Declaration of Principles (DoP) for International Election Observation, among others.
The Mission shall interact with state authorities, including, the Malawi Electoral Commission, political parties, the media, civil society organisations and representatives of the international community based in Malawi and other election observation missions.
The Mission will release a Preliminary Statement of its overall findings and assessment of the conduct of the elections on 18 September 2025 at a press conference in Lilongwe, Malawi. A final and comprehensive report will be released within one month from the date of the announcement of final election results and will be published.
The Mission’s Secretariat is located at the Sunbird Capital Hotel, Lilongwe, Malawi.