21/08/2026
EISA Appoints Dr Antonetta Hamandishe as Executive Director
Johannesburg, South Africa | 3 August 2026
The Board of Directors of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) has appointed Dr Antonetta Lovejoy Hamandishe as the institution's new Executive Director, effective 1 August 2026. Dr Hamandishe assumes the leadership of EISA at a defining moment for democratic governance across the African continent and takes forward an institution that has, for three decades, contributed to strengthening credible electoral processes, inclusive political participation, and democratic institutions in Africa.
About Dr Antonetta Lovejoy Hamandishe
Dr Antonetta Lovejoy Hamandishe is a Zimbabwean scholar-practitioner with fifteen years of executive leadership in democratic governance, electoral integrity, peacebuilding, and inclusive political participation across the African continent.
Dr Hamandishe was serving as EISA's Country Director in Tanzania at the time of her appointment as Executive Director, and she brings that operational grounding directly into her new role. She will remain closely engaged with the Tanzania country programme during the transition period, working alongside the country team to ensure continuity of delivery, partner relationships, and reporting commitments.
Dr Hamandishe has held senior programme and executive roles across Liberia, Somalia and Somaliland, and Zimbabwe. She led the European Union-funded PEACE Project in Somalia and Somaliland, coordinating electoral conflict monitoring and women's political participation work across six federal states. She served as Chief of Party for Democracy International's Elections and Democracy Activity in Liberia. She has also served in earlier programme leadership roles with EISA and its partner institutions in Zimbabwe, contributing to the 2013 constitutional referendum, election observation deployments to SADC member states, and civic education programming.
Dr Hamandishe brings to EISA a rare combination of assets. She carries deep institutional knowledge of the organisation, having grown within it from field-level programme leadership to senior country and continental roles, and she understands its people, its culture, and its operational realities from the inside. She combines this with executive experience across multiple African contexts and multiple donor frameworks, having led delivery under demanding conditions that few peers in the sector have navigated. Her scholarly credibility complements her practitioner discipline, positioning EISA in the intellectual conversations that shape the future of African democracy alongside its programme delivery. She brings a leadership approach grounded in honesty, care for the people who deliver the mission, institutional discipline, and unwavering commitment to integrity. Above all, she brings a clear-eyed understanding of the moment: that African democratic institutions face a defining transition, and that EISA has both the mandate and the capacity to lead through it. Her appointment signals the Board's confidence that EISA will move into its next chapter with clarity of purpose, methodological rigour, and continued African-led leadership at the intersection of practice, scholarship, and continental engagement
Statement from the Chairperson of the Board
Dr Tadjoudine Ali-Diabacté, Chairperson of the EISA Board of Directors:
"Dr Antonetta Hamandishe brings intellectual depth, executive experience under demanding conditions, and a deep commitment to democratic governance across Africa. Her career combines the practitioner's discipline with the scholar's analytical range, which is precisely the combination this institution needs at this moment in its evolution.
The Board is confident that under her leadership, EISA will continue to strengthen democratic institutions, deepen credible electoral processes, and expand its impact across the continent. On behalf of the Board, I extend to Dr Hamandishe our full support as she takes forward the mandate of this institution."
Statement from the Incoming Executive Director, Dr Antonetta Lovejoy Hamandishe:
"It is a great honour to accept the role of Executive Director of EISA. Over three decades, this institution has built one of the strongest African-led records in electoral integrity, democratic governance, and inclusive political participation on the continent. It does so at a moment when that work matters more than ever.
I look forward to working with our staff, our Board of Directors, our partners across governments, regional bodies, and civil society, and the citizens we ultimately serve, to strengthen democratic resilience, advance inclusive participation, and support African-led solutions that respond to the continent's evolving democratic aspirations."
Looking Forward
As Executive Director, Dr Hamandishe will lead EISA's strategic direction, institutional growth, regional partnerships, and programme delivery. Her priorities include strengthening the institution's financial resilience and resource mobilisation, deepening EISA's engagement with the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities, and Electoral Management Bodies across the continent, and repositioning the institution for the next phase of African democratic governance, including at the intersection of electoral processes and the emerging challenges of information integrity, extractive politics, and civic space defense.
About EISA
The Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) is a pan-African, non-profit institution founded in 1996 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with country offices and operational engagements across the continent. EISA works with governments, electoral management bodies, regional organisations, civil society, political parties, and citizens to promote credible elections, democratic governance, constitutionalism, political inclusion, conflict prevention, and democratic resilience across Africa. Over three decades, EISA has established itself as a trusted African-led institution at the intersection of electoral practice, scholarly rigour, and continental convening authority.
Media Enquiries:
Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa
14 Park Road, Richmond, Johannesburg 2092, South Africa
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.eisa.org
