Mugabe warned over foreign poll observers ban

Source: Mugabe warned over foreign poll observers ban – DailyNews Live

STAFF WRITER      5 November 2017

HARARE – President Robert Mugabe’s declaration to ban foreign poll
observers is “misplaced” and “perilous”, as the move will put the
freeness, fairness and credibility of the forthcoming 2018 elections in
question, an independent poll watchdog has warned.

Recently, the 93-year-old leader – endorsed as Zanu PF’s presidential
candidate – told the Chinese media in Harare that Zimbabwe will not invite
foreign observers, arguing that they (foreign observers) work in cahoots
with opposition political parties.

“Mugabe’s statements are not only misplaced but perilous, as they further
raise a lot of questions as far as the freeness, fairness and credibility
of elections is concerned,” Election Resource Centre (ERC) executive
director Tawanda Chimhini said.

He said Mugabe cannot be a referee and a player at the same time.

“It is not within President Mugabe’s jurisdiction but the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC)’s mandate to decide who should monitor and
observe Zimbabwe’s elections.

“If…Mugabe wants to be a referee in 2018, he must not be a candidate for
the 2018 election…Mugabe can’t be a player, referee and the linesman at
the same time. Mugabe must be reminded that he is only a player during the
2018 elections,” Chimhini said.

Chimhini insisted that if Mugabe has nothing to hide, “why would he block
the accreditation of foreign observers?”

The ERC boss said the move is unexpected since Zimbabwe is a signatory to
a number of international bodies, including the United Nations, that seek
to promote international best practice on elections.

“What boggles the mind is that Zimbabwe is a signatory to regional and
international bodies that have clear guidelines and principles that
encourage member states to hold elections adhering to international best
practice,” Chimhini said.

He urged Zec to be autonomous in order to champion the interests of
Zimbabweans by allowing international observers to observe.

“Honest democratic elections must be an expression of sovereignty, which
belongs to the people of Zimbabwe, not the president or the executive,”
Chimhini said.

He said “it is naive, archaic and out of touch with reality in the global
village” for a country to bar international observers at a time when they
have widely been accepted around the world.

International observers assess election processes in accordance with
international principles to ensure genuine democratic elections and
domestic law.