'Elections give citizen opportunity to judge leaders,' admitted Zuma. Good, just use 3-foot yardstick this time.

"As neighbours, no matter what they feel, they must mind their own business because they cannot interfere (in Zimbabwe). Whatever comments we (as neighbours) have, they have to be very limited because you cannot interfere,"  said former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma.

He was commenting on Zimbabwe's 2023 elections which are in full swing. Voting day is set for 23 August 2023.

"We want to ensure that when you are leading a country, it must spread and influence good neighbourliness and good relations," he continued.

"Every country looks at elections as a very important event because after a particular period, you reach a point where you say, are we doing very well?

"Also, it gives citizens an opportunity to judge you if you have been doing very well. I am looking forward to the elections."

One hopes that in acknowledging that elections "give citizens an opportunity to judge" those in power, SA's former president is endorsing the universal maxim that the mandate to govern is derived from democratic will of the people and the people alone and through the holding of free, fair and credible elections.

When the 2008 to 2013 GNU failed to implement even one token democratic reform to ensure free and fair elections, SADC leaders (Zuma was president of SA then) wanted the 2013 Zimbabwe elections postponed to allow for reforms. "If you go into the elections next month, you will lose. The elections are done!" they warned Tsvangirai and his MDC friends to their faces.

Sadly, SADC leaders' advice fell on deaf ears.

Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the 2013 elections, as SADC had predicted. The regional body did a volte-face and endorse the election process as "substantially free and fair" granting Zanu PF legitimacy although they had dismissed it as a farce a few weeks earlier.

Once again, SADC observers judged the 2018 elections as "substantially free and fair" granted Zanu PF legitimacy. The EU Election Observers dismissed the same election as a farce.

"The right to an effective legal remedy was not adequately provided for, there is no equal suffrage and shortcomings in the registration of voters somewhat compromised universal and equal suffrage. Notably, major shortcomings in the pre-election environment impacted on the free expression of the will of electors, state resources were misused in favour of the incumbent and coverage by state media was heavily biased in favour of the ruling party," stated the EU Election Observer Mission final report.

"Further, the electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability. Finally, the restrictions on political freedoms, the excessive use of force by security forces and abuses of human rights in the post-election period undermined the corresponding positive aspects during the pre-election campaign.

"As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards."

The EU made 23 reform recommendations which, implemented, would have brought Zimbabwe's election to accepted international standards. Not even one of these recommendations have seen the light of day.

These 23 August 2023 elections are going ahead without even something as basic as a verified voters' roll, for Pete's sake!

SA is one of the few countries in SADC that has successful held free, fair and credible elections to international accepted standards. We want SADC observers to use the 3-foot yard stick to judge these 2023 elections and not the 1-foot yard stick used in 2018. Nothing more, nothing less. That is all Zimbabweans are asking of SADC Election observers and that is not too much to ask.