HARARE – A 14-member Commonwealth election observer mission to Zimbabwe’s harmonised elections next week is ready to start work with deployments to various parts of the country set for Monday.
Officially launching the mission, chairperson of the Commonwealth observer group, Ambassador Amina Mohamed, told journalists in Harare her team is honoured to be part of Zimbabwe’s democratic process.
“We recognise the significance of these elections to the people of Zimbabwe, the region and the global community,” said Mohamed.
“We will observe the pre-election environment, polling day activities and the post-election period.
“In particular, we will consider whether public media has been impartial, the transparency of the entire process, whether voters are free to express their will, and whether the counting and results process is transparent.
“We will then report on whether the elections have been conducted in accordance with the standards to which Zimbabwe has committed itself, including its national law, regional and international.”
Mohamed, who is a former cabinet secretary in Kenya’s foreign affairs ministry, said over the coming days, the Commonwealth mission will meet stakeholders who include government representatives, political parties, security agencies, civil society groups, citizen and international observer groups, diplomats, and the media.
“From the 21st August, we will deploy our observers across various parts of Zimbabwe to observe the voting, counting and results process, as well as meet with other stakeholders in respective locations.
“On Election Day, we will observe the opening, voting, closing, counting and the results management processes.
“We will issue an interim statement on our preliminary findings on the 25 August, before members of the group depart Zimbabwe on the 29th of August,” she said.
She said the observer team’s presence to observe elections “affirms the unwavering support” of the Commonwealth to this country and its democratic processes.
Asked whether the findings of the group would be considered towards making a decision on whether Zimbabwe can rejoin the Commonwealth, Mohammed said election observation and membership was not related.
“There is an interest from both parties of government of Zimbabwe and the Commonwealth that Zimbabwe rejoins the family of the Commonwealth but these two processes are not linked.
“We are here at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to witness and observe the elections,” she said.
She said the team would not interfere with electoral processes.
“The Commonwealth Observer Group has no executive role, its function is not to interfere with, but to observe the process as a whole and to make recommendations, accordingly.
“We call on all political parties and their supporters to uphold standards for credible, inclusive and transparent elections and we encourage all citizens to play their part by ensuring that a peaceful and credible process takes place next Wednesday,” said Mohamed.
This is the second successive observer group to witness the country’s harmonised elections since Zimbabwe left the Commonwealth in 2003.
Other election observer teams already in the country include the European Union and SADC.
