diff --git a/e2e/multi-tab.spec.ts b/e2e/multi-tab.spec.ts
index daf94cc..26ba6e1 100644
--- a/e2e/multi-tab.spec.ts
+++ b/e2e/multi-tab.spec.ts
@@ -305,11 +305,76 @@ test.describe('TabMesh — multi-tab harness', () => {
     // Plus a delivery URL endpoint in the test fixture.
   });
 
-  test.fixme('Elected-leader failover within 50ms (#28-#31)', async () => {
-    // Force fallback by deleting `window.SharedWorker` before mesh.start().
-    // Then open 3 tabs, identify the leader (term + tabId), close it, and
-    // verify another tab claims leadership inside the Web Locks SLA.
-    // Requires either a debug system event from the leader or a
-    // `mesh.getStatus()` field exposing the current term/leaderTabId.
+  test('elected-leader failover when the leader tab closes (#28-#31)', async ({ context }) => {
+    // Force fallback mode via `?hub=elected` (deletes window.SharedWorker
+    // before mesh.start). Open 3 tabs, identify the leader, close it, and
+    // verify a different tab takes over with a higher term.
+    const a = await newPlaygroundTab(context, { hub: 'elected' });
+    const b = await newPlaygroundTab(context, { hub: 'elected' });
+    const c = await newPlaygroundTab(context, { hub: 'elected' });
+
+    type Status = {
+      role: 'hub' | 'follower' | null;
+      tabId: string;
+      leaderTabId: string | null;
+      term: number;
+    };
+    const readStatus = (page: Page): Promise<Status> =>
+      page.evaluate(() => {
+        const m = (globalThis as unknown as { __tabmesh: { getStatus(): Status } }).__tabmesh;
+        return m.getStatus();
+      });
+    const allReady = async (): Promise<Status[]> => {
+      const statuses = await Promise.all([a, b, c].map(readStatus));
+      return statuses;
+    };
+
+    // Wait for exactly one leader to be elected across the three tabs.
+    await expect
+      .poll(
+        async () => {
+          const statuses = await allReady();
+          return statuses.filter((s) => s.role === 'hub').length;
+        },
+        { timeout: 10_000 }
+      )
+      .toBe(1);
+
+    const initial = await allReady();
+    const leader = initial.find((s) => s.role === 'hub');
+    expect(leader).toBeDefined();
+    if (!leader) throw new Error('unreachable');
+    const leaderTabId = leader.tabId;
+
+    const leaderPage = [a, b, c].find((page, i) => initial[i] && initial[i]?.tabId === leaderTabId);
+    if (!leaderPage) throw new Error('could not match leader page');
+
+    await leaderPage.close();
+    const survivors = [a, b, c].filter((p) => !p.isClosed());
+    expect(survivors.length).toBe(2);
+
+    // The remaining tabs must elect a new leader. Web Locks failover is
+    // sub-50ms in spec; BC heartbeat fallback is ~1.5s; IDB is up to 5s.
+    // Headless Chromium supports Web Locks, but we keep a generous bound.
+    //
+    // Note: in Web Locks mode the per-tab `term` counter doesn't carry
+    // across tabs (each tab tracks its own term-of-this-leadership), so
+    // the meaningful assertion is "a different tab is now the leader."
+    await expect
+      .poll(
+        async () => {
+          const updated = await Promise.all(survivors.map(readStatus));
+          const newLeader = updated.find((s) => s.role === 'hub');
+          if (!newLeader) return null;
+          if (newLeader.tabId === leaderTabId) return null;
+          return newLeader.tabId;
+        },
+        { timeout: 10_000 }
+      )
+      .not.toBeNull();
+
+    for (const page of survivors) {
+      await page.close();
+    }
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/core/src/TabMesh.ts b/packages/core/src/TabMesh.ts
index 5dbcabf..c99d083 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/TabMesh.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/TabMesh.ts
@@ -375,14 +375,31 @@ export class TabMesh {
    * Get the current status of the mesh.
    */
   getStatus(): TabMeshStatus {
+    let role: TabMeshStatus['role'] = null;
+    let leaderTabId: string | null = null;
+    let term = 0;
+    if (this.hubMode === 'shared-worker') {
+      // In shared-worker mode every tab is a follower of the worker. There
+      // is no "leader" concept — the worker isn't a tab.
+      role = 'follower';
+    } else if (this.hub instanceof ElectedLeaderHub) {
+      const snap = this.hub.getElectionSnapshot();
+      if (snap) {
+        role = snap.isLeader ? 'hub' : 'follower';
+        leaderTabId = snap.leaderTabId;
+        term = snap.term;
+      }
+    }
     return {
       started: this.started,
       hubMode: this.hubMode,
       hubConnected: this.hub?.connected ?? false,
-      role: this.hubMode === 'shared-worker' ? 'follower' : null,
+      role,
       transportState: this.transportState,
       tabId: this.tabId,
       degraded: this.degraded,
+      leaderTabId,
+      term,
     };
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/hub/ElectedLeaderHub.ts b/packages/core/src/hub/ElectedLeaderHub.ts
index 2f7dbdc..81e3641 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/hub/ElectedLeaderHub.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/hub/ElectedLeaderHub.ts
@@ -65,6 +65,19 @@ export class ElectedLeaderHub implements Hub {
     return this._connected;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Snapshot of the current leader-election state. Returns `null` if the
+   * hub hasn't started electing yet. Used by TabMesh.getStatus().
+   */
+  getElectionSnapshot(): { isLeader: boolean; leaderTabId: string | null; term: number } | null {
+    if (!this.leader) return null;
+    return {
+      isLeader: this.leader.leader,
+      leaderTabId: this.leader.leaderTabId,
+      term: this.leader.term,
+    };
+  }
+
   async connect(tabId: string): Promise<void> {
     this.tabId = tabId;
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/types.ts b/packages/core/src/types.ts
index 4e52901..45dc8b8 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/types.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/types.ts
@@ -393,6 +393,18 @@ export interface TabMeshStatus {
   tabId: string;
   /** Whether persistence is degraded (in-memory fallback). */
   degraded: boolean;
+  /**
+   * Current elected-leader's tab id, when running in elected-leader mode.
+   * Null in shared-worker mode (no leader concept) or before the first
+   * leader is elected.
+   */
+  leaderTabId?: string | null;
+  /**
+   * Current election term, when running in elected-leader mode. Increments
+   * with each leadership transition. Useful for detecting failover and
+   * resolving split-brain.
+   */
+  term?: number;
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/packages/playground/src/mesh.ts b/packages/playground/src/mesh.ts
index 7b958eb..6812baa 100644
--- a/packages/playground/src/mesh.ts
+++ b/packages/playground/src/mesh.ts
@@ -34,3 +34,9 @@ function numberFromParam(name: string): number | undefined {
   const parsed = Number(raw);
   return Number.isFinite(parsed) && parsed > 0 ? parsed : undefined;
 }
+
+// Expose the mesh instance on `window` for the e2e harness. The playground
+// is a demo app — there's no privacy boundary to protect — and the
+// alternative (rendering every diagnostic field on screen) bloats the UI
+// for tests no human would read.
+(globalThis as unknown as { __tabmesh: typeof mesh }).__tabmesh = mesh;