The Zimbabwean government has asked the SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM), to alter its preliminary report by removing parts that criticised the manner in which the 23 and 24 August Harmonised Elections were conducted, reported NewsDay.
Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Amon Murwira, told ambassadors from the SADC region that SEOM should operate within the confines of the Constitutions and laws of member States.
This comes after the SEOM condemned ZEC’s delimitation report and the disqualification of Saviour Kasukuwere from the presidential race.
In a diplomatic statement read to ambassadors from Zambia, Angola, Botswana and Tanzania who attended the briefing, Murwira said:
It is our understanding that SADC respects the sovereignty of member States and that SEOM as its subsidiary operates within the confines of the Constitutions and laws of member States, which are passed by sovereign Parliaments.
We don’t believe it is in the remit of SEOM to question or interfere with member States’ Constitutions, laws, and court decisions passed by their sovereign democratic institutions…
Zimbabwe has full confidence that the errors cited in the SEOM report will be corrected with the view of ensuring the intended beneficial contribution to strengthening the electoral processes of member States, including Zimbabwe.
On Saturday, 26 August, ZEC chairperson Priscilla Makanyara Chigumba announced that President Emmerson Mnangagwa had retained the presidency by a 52.6% margin.
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