Adopted on 20 July 2015, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa “Free (elections)” means ‘Fundamental human rights and freedoms are adhered to during electoral processes, including freedom of speech and expression of the electoral stakeholders; and freedom of assembly and association; and that freedom of access to information and right to transmit and receive political messages by citizens is upheld; that the principles of equal and universal adult suffrage are observed, in addition to the voter’s right to exercise their franchise in secret and register their complaints without undue restrictions or repercussions.’ “Fair (elections)” means ‘electoral processes that are conducted in conformity with established rules and regulations, managed by an impartial, non-partisan professional and competent Electoral Management Body (EMB); in an atmosphere characterised by respect for the rule of law; guaranteed rights of protection for citizens through the electoral law and the constitution and reasonable opportunities for voters to transmit and receive voter information; defined by equitable access to financial and material resources for all political parties and independent candidates in accordance with the national laws; and where there is no violence, intimidation or discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, religious or other considerations specified in these SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. “ISPDC” means ‘Inter State Politics and Diplomacy Committee.’ “LTO” means ‘Long Term Observation’ i.e. the observation of the entire electoral cycle or the major segments of the electoral cycle, including pre-election, election and post-election periods for not less than 30 days.’ “LTOs” means ‘persons assigned to undertake the observation of the entire electoral cycle or the major segments of the electoral cycle, including pre-election, election and post-election periods for not less than 30 days.’ “MCO” means ‘Ministerial Committee of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.’ “Member States” means the ‘Member States of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).’ “Non-violent” means ‘The absence of physical actions resulting in injury or death; and non-physical actions such as economic coercion, intimidation, threats and any other form of psychological abuse.’ “Observation” means ‘the purposeful gathering of information regarding an electoral process and the making of informed judgements on the basis of the information collected by persons who are not inherently authorised to intervene in the process.’ “OAU” means ‘Organisation of African Unity.’ “OPDSC” means ‘Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.’ “Peaceful” means “electoral processes are punctuated by calm; are undisturbed and untroubled by violence or intimidation; are conflict-free and generally exude an atmosphere where all citizens are free and unhindered to express their right to vote; are able to offer themselves without intimidation for election, communicate freely their electoral choices; and enjoy freedom of assembly and association.’ “Regular” means “elections must be periodic, defined by a specific date or period.’ “SADC Reference Manual for Election Observers” means ‘a Handbook developed and approved by SADC as a reference manual for SADC electoral observers.’ “SADC” means ‘Southern African Development Community.’ iii