SADC report draws Zanu PF anger
Grace Moyo
The ruling Zanu PF did not waste time to hit back at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) which issued a damning preliminary statement on the conduct of the 2023 Harmonised elections.
Two press conferences addressed by party spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa and President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s chief election agent Ziyambi Ziyambi berated the regional body for denouncing Zimbabwe’s election.
Mutsvangwa said by producing a “biased” report, Nevers Mumba, head of the SADC Mission is meddling in matters that are beyond him. In presenting the report, Mumba had expressed concern on the shadowy group, Forever Associates of Zimbabwe’s unconstitutional involvement in electoral processes but Mutsvangwa dismissed him for bias against Zanu PF’s affiliate.
Ziyambi sang from the same song sheet as Mutsvangwa. “When observers come to our country to observe elections, they have not come here to rewrite our laws,” he said.
“We have a Constitution that dictates what we are supposed to do, observers are there to follow whether our processes are within the confines of our laws.
“It is important to note that when observers come to the country, their mandate is limited to fact-finding related to the specific poll and not to a collection of grievances as witnessed in the report by SADC and EU. So, when we request our friends and other countries to come and observe our elections, they must be objective and pinpoint things that will enrich our democracy rather than becoming a tool to attack our sovereignty.”
Ziyambi took exception to criticism of state media about coverage of the pre-election period as it was not the media’s duty to seek interviews from political parties. The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is on record alleging that the opposition has on several times refused to grant interviews. The opposition CCC refutes the allegation.
The SEOM’s preliminary highlighted discrepancies between the election process and the constitution, the Electoral Act, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
Sihle Zulu, of Dete welcomed SADC’s report saying it was a correct report on Zimbabwe’s electoral situation.
“SADC should be commended for finally speaking the truth. These things have been happening but nobody has spoken out about this but it is better late than never. We hope ZEC changes its ways in terms of administering elections so that we can have free and fair elections,” she said.
SADC has in the past turned a blind eye to Zanu PF’s excesses in its power retention. The scathing report chastises ZEC for flawed delimitation, failure to release the voters roll on time, high candidate nomination fees. It also notes the partisan actions of the police and the patriotic bill as affronts on freedom of assembly and freedom of expression respectively. The European Union and African Union also condemned some aspects of the election.
