The Southern African Development Community (SADC) extraordinary summit of heads of state and government took place exactly 19 days after the bloodless, military-free, and violence-free transition of power from the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) to the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).

This was historic in many ways and a big milestone that would be recorded in the history books for many years. The BDP’s 58-year-old dominance was finally brought to an abrupt end.

One thought that the heads of state and government in southern Africa and Africa in general would have been shaken, motivated, and inspired by what Batswana and Botswana had achieved after 58 years of one political party dominance.

However, that was not to be, except for the summit’s casual and lukewarm line in the official communique: “The Summit commended the Republics of Mozambique, Botswana, and Mauritius for successfully holding peaceful elections…”

And it was even worse that the summit was held in a country where democracy is only acceptable when ZANU-PF exclusively defines it.

Any other divergent views in Zimbabwe are often met by harassment, detention, persecution, and state brutality.

One of the comments I made after former president Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi seamlessly handed over the office of the President to the then President-elect Adv Duma Gideon Boko was: “Congratulations to you Mr President, there is a lot that we can learn from Botswana and Batswana as we go through the electoral reform in South Africa. Well done Botswana!!!”

Am I surprised that the heads of state and government of the SADC extraordinary summit found nothing wrong with writing Botswana and Mozambique in one sentence regarding successful and peaceful elections in their respective countries? – No!

It was clear that the heads of state and government at the extraordinary summit found nothing odd about the elections in Mozambique, after all, the SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) described the 2024 elections in Mozambique as peaceful, “well-organised and a true reflection of the people’s will”.

According to reports from various sources, Mozambique had over 25 000 voting stations, yet the SADC found it okay to have only 53 observers in a country with over 25 000 voting stations – it is abnormal and impractical for any 53-person observer mission to monitor elections in over 25 000 voting stations; unless some of them spent most of their time at main election centres, broadcast centres, and hotels.

In my books, if SADC is still interested in any serious election observer mission in the future and using Mozambique as a case study, they should have at least two observers in every voting station in Mozambique that would serve as a trusted and reliable source for the SADC SEOM.

The engagement with key stakeholders in Mozambique was a step in the right direction, but elections need active and present observers at each voting station to ensure that no elections in Southern Africa and Africa are rigged, stolen, and manipulated.

The SADC as a regional organisation, is and was better placed than all other regional and international organisations to deploy as many as possible elections observers in southern Africa. It is practical and works out much cheaper than expecting the European Union to send an election observer mission all the way from Brussels.

It is also disturbing that SADC has for many years chosen to remain tight-lipped on the state of the repressive and absolute monarch in the Kingdom of eSwatini.

At some point, the SADC member states must refuse to sit in the same room and summit with those who became leaders of their countries through rigging elections.

Otherwise, the SADC and African Union will continue to be seen as some “big boys club”, regional and continental bodies that often meet to make lofty promises with some of the repressive and despotic leaders of the continent in attendance.

Lesego Sechaba Mogotsi is a Member of the Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO) and writes in his personal capacity