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Sadc communiqué notes 'problems' in Special vote
21 Jul 2013 at 18:32hrs | Views
A MINI-summit of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) noted "problems" during special voting by the police and army ahead of Zimbabwe's July 31 elections but a final communiqué avoided any comment about mounting concerns in the region.
The mini-summit - the latest in a long series of meetings dominated by Zimbabwe - was called after Mr Mugabe directed angry statements at Lindiwe Zulu, Mr Zuma's international relations adviser and his main point-person on Zimbabwe. Last week she told reporters that there worrying signs from the ground ahead of the elections, which Saturday's meeting would assess.
Although the final communiqué, released early on Sunday, said the "summit noted the problems that arose during the special vote on 14-15 July 2013," Sadc said it was pleased that all political parties were committed to a peaceful environment during the elections.
"Summit encouraged the government, all political parties and leaders to continue with these commendable efforts which will help realise credible elections," the communiqué stated.
It commended the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) for "taking these up as challenges to be overcome on the 31st of July, and called upon all political parties to co-operate as fully as possible with ZEC in order to ensure that it is able to meet these challenges."
Sadc had wanted the July 31 presidential and parliamentary elections to be postponed to allow more time to fix a host of problems, ranging from the integrity of the voters' roll to the pro-Mugabe bias of security forces and state media. The request was turned down by Zimbabwe's constitutional court.
So far, there have been no signs of violent intimidation against MDC supporters. As many as 200 people were killed during the last elections in 2008, human rights bodies say.
Mugabe has banned European Union (EU) and US election observers, meaning that several hundred monitors from the 15-nation Sadc regional bloc and a few dozen from the African Union will be the world's eyes and ears at elections, which could either mark Zimbabwe's return to the international fold or prolong its relative isolation, particularly by Western states.
SA President Jacob Zuma hosted the surprise four-nation summit, held over dinner on Saturday night. President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and President Armando Guebuza of Mozambique were present. Namibia's Foreign Minister Netumbo Ndaitwa was deputised to stand in for President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
The mini-summit - the latest in a long series of meetings dominated by Zimbabwe - was called after Mr Mugabe directed angry statements at Lindiwe Zulu, Mr Zuma's international relations adviser and his main point-person on Zimbabwe. Last week she told reporters that there worrying signs from the ground ahead of the elections, which Saturday's meeting would assess.
Although the final communiqué, released early on Sunday, said the "summit noted the problems that arose during the special vote on 14-15 July 2013," Sadc said it was pleased that all political parties were committed to a peaceful environment during the elections.
"Summit encouraged the government, all political parties and leaders to continue with these commendable efforts which will help realise credible elections," the communiqué stated.
Sadc had wanted the July 31 presidential and parliamentary elections to be postponed to allow more time to fix a host of problems, ranging from the integrity of the voters' roll to the pro-Mugabe bias of security forces and state media. The request was turned down by Zimbabwe's constitutional court.
So far, there have been no signs of violent intimidation against MDC supporters. As many as 200 people were killed during the last elections in 2008, human rights bodies say.
Mugabe has banned European Union (EU) and US election observers, meaning that several hundred monitors from the 15-nation Sadc regional bloc and a few dozen from the African Union will be the world's eyes and ears at elections, which could either mark Zimbabwe's return to the international fold or prolong its relative isolation, particularly by Western states.
SA President Jacob Zuma hosted the surprise four-nation summit, held over dinner on Saturday night. President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and President Armando Guebuza of Mozambique were present. Namibia's Foreign Minister Netumbo Ndaitwa was deputised to stand in for President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
Source - BDlive
