Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The Government of Zimbabwe has said it received the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) final report last Thursday and will give a response in due course.
In a statement on Friday, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amon Murwira said the Government is currently studying the report and will either accept or reject its recommendations. He said:
We received the SADC report yesterday (Thursday) and we will give our response. We are reading it.
As a report of election observations, it will come with its recommendations, which we will either accept or reject, but it is important to have comments on a report.
All that needs to be known is that it is not a legal instrument. It is peer-reviewed, so we can accept or rebut it.
In its final report on the Zimbabwe 2023 Harmonised Elections, SEOM urged aggrieved parties to approach courts to resolve disputes emanating from the polls. It said:
The SEOM calls for all concerned parties to ensure that any grievances with respect to the election results are channelled through the appropriate legal processes to ensure the exhaustion of domestic legal remedies.
The SEOM noted that … some aspects of the Harmonised Elections fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021).
The SEOM commends political leaders for spreading the messages of peace and non-violence throughout the electoral cycle.
The opposition CCC led by Nelson Chamisa has been calling for a fresh election after SEOM said some aspects of the polls fell short of the requirements of Zimbabwe’s laws and SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
These included the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)’s failure to avail voting materials to some polling stations on voting day, violence and intimidation of voters, banning of opposition rallies, and a controversial delimitation of electoral boundaries, among others.
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