News / National
'Ban AU, SADC election observers'
15 Mar 2018 at 07:09hrs | Views
TOP academic and publisher Ibbo Mandaza has called for the banning of African missions from observing elections on the continent insisting they were a "disaster" as shown through alleged partisanship towards incumbents.
According to NewZimbabwe.com, Mandaza was speaking during a Sapes Trust policy dialogue forum on Tuesday.
In his comments, Mandaza, often solicited for views on politics by both local and international media, said the involvement of biased observer missions from the continent raised confidence issues around elections in different countries.
"Until the confidence factor is resolved, I think we have serious problems," Mandaza said.
"Observers now are coming into question. Take the Kenyan example, Thabo Mbeki and others are blessing the elections."
"There is a bunch of SADC observers who are here making very profound statements on arrival," Mandaza said Tuesday.
"Should we trust observers, or should we ban observers? What use are they, really? The SADC and AU observer missions have been a disaster and if it were not for the Common Wealth Observer Mission in 2002 and EU, it might be a different narrative in this country."
According to NewZimbabwe.com, Mandaza was speaking during a Sapes Trust policy dialogue forum on Tuesday.
In his comments, Mandaza, often solicited for views on politics by both local and international media, said the involvement of biased observer missions from the continent raised confidence issues around elections in different countries.
"Observers now are coming into question. Take the Kenyan example, Thabo Mbeki and others are blessing the elections."
"There is a bunch of SADC observers who are here making very profound statements on arrival," Mandaza said Tuesday.
"Should we trust observers, or should we ban observers? What use are they, really? The SADC and AU observer missions have been a disaster and if it were not for the Common Wealth Observer Mission in 2002 and EU, it might be a different narrative in this country."
Source - newzimbabwe
