477 referendum observers accredited so far

Accreditation of observers to the constitution referendum is proceeding smoothly with some 477 observers having been accredited since the process began on the 7th of this month.

In an interview with ZBC News in Harare, Chief Elections Officer, Lovemore Sekeramayi said the electoral committee charged with accrediting observers has received 83 applications from organisations, embassies and regional bodies requesting accreditation of their members.

The requests are from 51 local organisations, 1 from the region, 16 from foreign missions based in Harare, 7 from individuals, 4 from political parties and two from foreign interstate organisations.

Mr Sekeramayi revealed that of the 477 observers, who have been accredited so far, 453 are local observers, 11 are foreign journalists while 13 are local scribes.

The Chief Elections Officer also clarified that all diplomatic missions that are not from Africa will be limited to five observers to prevent crowding at  polling stations, while those from the African continent will not be limited.

Observers from the African Union (AU), COMESA and the SADC Electoral Forum are yet to be accredited.

A visit to the accreditation centre at the Harare International Conference Centre showed that proceedings were going on smoothly.

Other accreditation centres are at Windsor in Bulawayo and Flamboyant Hotel in Masvingo.