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- Former Zambian vice president Enoch Kavindele will head SEOM to the DRC election polls.
- He is the third VP from that country to monitor recent elections for the Southern African Development Community.
- The Southern African Development Community highlighted the need to respect the outcome of the polls.
Former Zambian vice president Enoch Kavindele has been appointed to head the Southern African Development Community Election Observer Mission (SEOM) to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) polls on 20 December.
The makes him the third former Zambian vice president to head an SEOM after Nevers Mumba in Zimbabwe in August and Godfrey Miyanda, who led the SEOM to Madagascar in November.
Kavindele, who also led the SEOM to Eswatini in September, is expected to arrive in Kinshasa ahead of the mission's 15 December launch and eventual deployment countrywide.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, also appointed Lazarous Kapambwe, Zambia's former ambassador to the United States, to be the SEOM's alternate head.
READ | DRC braces for its most contested general elections
The SEOM will cover 18 out of 26 provinces in the DRC during the pre- and post-election periods.
SADC's mandate for the elections is guided by the basic tenets of democratic polls, it said in a statement.
"These principles emphasise the importance of citizen participation in the democratic and development processes, the implementation of measures to prevent political violence, intimidation, and intolerance, and the promotion of equal opportunities for all political parties to access the state media and for all citizens to access information," the secretariat said.
Numerous surveys suggest a Felix Tshisekedi victory.
His leading challengers are Moise Katumbi of the Together for the Republic party, 2018 runner-up Martin Fayulu of the Engagement for Citizenship and Development party, and Dr Denis Mukwege, winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with rape survivors.
ALSO READ | DR Congo opposition leaders hold talks in South Africa
SADC highlighted the need to respect the outcome of the polls and the proper channels to be used in cases of dispute.
"The Mission emphasises the significance of acceptance and respect for the election results by all political parties," reads the SEOM statement.
There are 44 million registered voters in a country with over 100 million people. DRC is roughly the size of Western Europe, which means staging elections is something of a logistical nightmare.
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