Zimbabwe pushes to change Sadc laws following Mumba controversies

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration is seeking to change the regional bloc's statutes and guidelines following Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) election observer mission (SEOM)'s criticism of the recent general elections held in Zimbabwe.

Speaking on SABC, presidential spokesperson George Charamba argued that elections are a complex process, extending beyond a single-day event, and suggested that key decisions regarding the Sadc observer mission's report should not rest solely with one individual overseeing a subsidiary body.

"When you have a process that creates a head of State, a government, that can create war and peace, does it make sense to leave one man in charge? We must use the weaknesses we have seen in this mission to set things right in Sadc," Charamba said.

Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Charamba revealed that Sadc statutes might be changed next year.

"Those countries now look forward to Zimbabwe using its host and chair status to challenge this whole tradition of one leader who happens to chair an arm of a Sadc organ exclusively determining an observer mission to an electoral process of sovereign Sadc members," Charamba said.

He added: "My hunch is that this might be changed in Harare next year. Which makes sense! You can't leave so critical midwifery process to the whims of one leader, a process which can make or break peace in a country, which produces a whole President, a whole government, a whole Parliament of any one Sadc nation-State!"

Charamba's utterances come at a time when plans to alienate former Zambian Vice-President and Sadc election observer mission  head Nevers Mumba have reportedly backfired on Zanu-PF as the regional bloc remains unapologetic over the SEOM report.

The SEOM report said last month's harmonised elections were not free, fair and credible and did not conform to regional and international benchmarks.

Zanu-PF has, in defence, singled out Mumba, accusing him of being biased and a Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) sympathiser.

United Kingdom-based lawyer and human rights advocate Brighton Matebuka said Mnangagwa's inauguration, which was attended by three out of 16 heads of State from the region, was a "powerful diplomatic indication of the extent of the isolation he now suffers from the region owing to the shameless and sham election that he recently held".

"Publicly, ED [Mnangagwa] and his regime were desperate to present a fait accompli or business as usual image of a juggernaut marching on crushing anything in its path but privately, the gesture undertaken by Sadc would have hit home," he said.

"Sadc carefully choreographed the rebuffs in order to signify the seriousness of the situation and to communicate to the regime that it was not backing down or throwing SEOM and Dr Mumba under the bus."

In a show of solidarity with Mumba, Sadc chair of the organ on politics, defence and security, Hakainde Hichilema, was not in attendance at Mnangagwa's inauguration.

Sadc's immediate past chairperson and Namibian President Hage Geingob also stayed away from the inauguration.

Matebuka said the absence of the Sadc chairperson, President Joao Lourenco of Angola was particularly telling, as was the Namibian President.

"That absence clearly suggests that diplomatic co-ordination took place and that the strategy of singling out Dr Nevers Mumba when trying to undermine SEOM's report has spectacularly backfired," he said.