Tension escalated in Zimbabwe after the SADC Election observer mission issued a statement that pointed to elections in Zimbabwe not meeting the regional and international standards.
This morning the media briefing of the opposition Coalition for Citizen Change (CCC) was disrupted by unknown group.
Zimbabwe Elections l Leader of CCC Nelson Chamisa’s press briefing disrupted: Sophie Mokoena
Meanwhile, a number of observer missions deployed in Zimbabwe have lashed out at that country’s electoral body.
Regional bloc Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) says the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission‘s failure to deliver ballot papers on time dissuaded voters especially in the capital Harare and Bulawayo.
SADC, Africa Union (AU) and Commonwealth presented their preliminary reports before the media.
The mission observed that the pre-elections and voting phases of 23rd and 24th and the SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections.
A scathing report by the regional bloc SADC as it accuses the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission of failing to adhere to the Constitution, Electoral Act and even the SADC region electoral guidelines.
International observers such as Commonwealth Election Observer Mission have also raised concerns about voter intimidation and logistical challenges.
Head of Commonwealth Election Observer Mission, Amina Mohamed says, “For us, I think the challenge was that some were delivered on time and others were not delivered on time. We will make sure that we make our conclusions very very clear in our report.”
EU Head of Observer Mission, Fabio Castaldo says the environment was not conducive for voters to freely exercise their rights.
The EU delegation Observation Mission concludes that a lack of a level playing filed led to an environment that was not always conducive.
