'Sadc must stop flawed future Zimbabwe polls'

CIVIL society organisations (CSOs) in Zimbabwe have called on the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) to stop future elections which do not comply with its recommendations on holding credible, free and fair polls.

Zimbabwe held its harmonised elections in August this year, but the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) disputed the outcome, while Sadc, the Africa Union and the European Union (EU) said the polls fell short of local, regional, international standards and the constitutional provisions of the land.

In a joint 2023 election report released last week, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Counselling Services Unit, Research and Advocacy Unit, Veritas and Heal Zimbabwe Trust argued that it was pointless to continue holding disputed elections.

In their joint report titled: "Pre and Post-Organised Violence and Torture during the 2023 Harmonised Elections in Zimbabwe", the CSOs said having discredited elections worsened the existing political divisions in the country.

"The insistence by Sadc that no elections hereafter take place without substantive implementation of all Sadc recommendations and refusal to observe elections in Zimbabwe should this be disregarded."

The CSOs said the recommendations were necessary in ensuring that future elections in Zimbabwe were truly free, fair and credible.

"We recommend the recognition by Sadc that the post-election climate in Zimbabwe is marred by significant conflict and not merely about the results. [We recommend] insistence that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission allows embedded Sadc observers in the forthcoming by-elections," the CSOs said in the joint statement.

The election observer missions statements did not go down well with government officials and Zanu-PF activists who argued that their reports were preconceived to discredit Zimbabwe.

The attacks were targeted at Sadc observer mission head, Nevers Mumba and the EU who were accused of supporting CCC.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn) also released its election report on Wednesday last week calling for comprehensive reform of the electoral framework to guarantee credible elections.

Zesn said the electoral legal framework must be aligned to the Constitution.

"Parliament must undertake a comprehensive review of the electoral legal framework, identifying and addressing gaps, flaws and inadequacies," Zesn said.

"Further, the process of alignment should be implemented timeously to avoid implementation and operational delays. Substantive changes to the legal framework should be finalised not later than 6 months before the next harmonised elections."

Zesn also emphasised the need to register and regulate political parties to address the contested issues of recalls as they bring into question the significance and relevance of elections.

Zimbabwe has a history of disputed elections.

The recently held by-elections have also complicated the dispute around polls after CCC councillors and legislators were recalled by self-imposed secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu.