Coltart accuses international community of 'white-washing' Zim election

A leading opposition figure in Zimbabwe has accused some unnamed members of the international community of indirectly backing Zanu-PF by brushing aside his party's concerns with the electoral commission.

David Coltart, of the MDC Alliance, said there are some in the international community who are "desperate to white-wash this election".

The Alliance accuses the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of violating the constitution and the Electoral Act by refusing to give the opposition information on the printing of the ballot papers, and by not taking action against biased state media among other issues.

Valid concerns

It has also raised concerns over the quality of the voters roll. An opposition-aligned group of analysts, TeamPachedu,  claims that up to 900 000 records on the roll had been tampered with.

"The international community needs to know that these are not superficial concerns. These are valid concerns based on the breach of the law," Coltart said in comments carried by the private Daily News.

"If we believe in the rule of law then we must believe in the rule of law; everyone, including the international community," he said.

'No military involvement'

On Tuesday, ambassadors met Zimbabwe's foreign minister Sibusiso Moyo in Harare.

Washington's new ambassador, Brian Nichols was quoted by the state-run Herald as saying that though there were still unresolved issues surrounding the elections, progress compared to previous ones was "impressive".

"The key is that Zimbabweans express their will at the ballot box," he said.

Britain's ambassador, Catriona Laing said it was imperative to ensure the secrecy of the vote and to ensure "the military will have no direct involvement in this election and will accept the results".