The European Union (EU) has deployed 44 short-term observers to Zimbabwe’s 23 August general elections across the country’s ten provinces.
The short-term observers were deployed on Sunday, becoming the third contingent from the EU, following the core team and 46 long-term observers, which arrived in the country earlier in July.
In total, the EU election observer mission will comprise about 150 observers from all 27 member states, as well as Canada, Norway and Switzerland, reported New Ziana.
Addressing reporters, European Union Election Observer Mission (EU EOM) Chief Observer Fabio Massimo Castaldo said that the team will follow voting, counting, collation of results and the electoral environment in both rural and urban areas. He said:
The short-term observers will cover all ten provinces in both, urban and rural areas. Together with the other EU election observer mission, they will be the eyes and the ears of the mission on Election Day during polling, counting and collation of results. They will also pay attention to the election environment.
EU observers will be visiting many polling stations from the opening to the closing of the polls and follow also the collation of results. They will however not interfere in the process. They are here to observe and not to supervise.
Before their deployment, the short-term observers received a two-day in-depth briefing in Harare on the electoral background, voting procedures, the political environment, code of conduct and other topics.
Zimbabwe holds presidential, parliamentary and local government elections on 23 August 2023, with the ruling ZANU PF and the opposition CCC the main contenders.
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