via AU final report on Zim poll reflects ‘solidarity of the African elite’ | SW Radio Africa by Nomalanga Moyo November 1, 2013
The African Union Election Observer Mission has released its final report on Zimbabwe’s elections, in which it endorses the process as having conformed to continental standards on the conduct of elections, and an accurate expression of the will of Zimbabweans.
The report will come as no surprise to many observers as it simply confirms the position taken by the AU observer mission head Olusegun Obasanjo, who pronounced the Zim poll credible and legitimate a few days after July 31st.
In the report the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is lauded for conducting a “successful” and “professional” election despite being resource-handicapped.
According to the report, the Zim elections were held in accordance with the OAU/AU Declaration and Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa.
The report includes some concerns and recommendations which relate to what civil society groups and the MDC formations have said are serious anomalies that discredited the electoral process.
The report noted the absence of the voters’ roll which it said “should be made available to all stakeholders for verification and inspection, in both electronic and hard copy format, at least 14 days before elections.”
The report also noted the inequitable access to the public media and called for ZEC to “scrupulously enforce the relevant regulations of the Electoral Act to afford alternative voices and all political parties equitable access at all times during elections.
“The AUEOM further recommends that the provisions of the Broadcasting Services Act be fully implemented to enable the liberalization of radio and television ownership, thereby providing a broader platform for all stakeholders to voice their opinions, consistent with the stipulations of the new Constitution.”
Abel Chikomo, head of lobby group Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, said the report is what he expected from the AU as it was in line with the Mission’s preliminary report.
Chikomo added: “Given all the anomalies that they highlight in their report, it becomes difficult to see how they can endorse such as a flawed process as a reflection of the will of the people of Zimbabwe.
“The only logical explanation would be that both the AU and SADC decided to endorse this poll as a way of getting out of Zimbabwe as fast as they could.
“I got the feeling that the outcome really didn’t matter to these bodies, it was about getting out of Zimbabwe in a way that would hand the responsibility back to the Zimbabwean people,” he said.
Chikomo observed that the AU report failed to locate the role of ZEC in the electoral process within the broader political narrative in Zimbabwe.
“All they did was analyse the resource constraints that ZEC faced, but the AU failed to ask ‘what is ZEC within the Zimbabwe political context’.”
Chikomo said, given the serious concerns raised throughout the electoral process, the AU should have called for an audit of what really happened.
“There were too many flaws in this election which shouldn’t have been ignored by the AU as this has potentially set a very wrong precedent for future elections in the not in Zimbabwe but also in the rest of the continent.
“The AU and SADC Zim poll endorsements despite objections from a large section of the population prove that the so-called African solidarity is nothing but the solidarity of the African elite,” Chikomo said.
The full AU report can be viewed here
COMMENTS
That’s why the ICC should be involved , to curtail this elite club of criminals…….
Drones will soon be available to purchase privately. What fun taking out the continents underworld mafia dictators club
Birds of the same feather fly together .
club of idiots
What do we expect from these dictators.They must not say the elections reflected the wills of the people of zim.Africa a dictators continent.Our hearts are bleeding fr our rights and elections stolen.nxaaaa
Obasanjo became president through a military coup. What else can we expect from a club of dictators. It’s like asking China to supervise the elections in North Korea.
Not like SW Radio to get this so wrong. Most importantly the AUEOM did not say that the electoral process “conformed to continental standards on the conduct of elections, and an accurate expression of the will of Zimbabweans”…they said that laws had been put into place which conformed with the principles…it does not say they were followed, which is something else entirely. And nowhere does the report say that the election reflected the will of Zimbabweans. This is what the Herald would like it to say.
AU does not even have any capacity to deal with any disaster inAfrica.There is no mission in which it can say it emerged with pride.Wars in Angola, Mozambique,Sierra Leone,Ivory Coast the list is endless.Obasanjo does not even have a clue to solve the Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria.When going for elections,the terms and conditions must be put and wherever there are sticky points,they have to be ioned out for the satisfaction of all concerned parties.This AU is a non existing entity of old madhalas whose sense of reality is biased in the comradeship.
AFRICAN UNION and SADDC scum report full of nonsense
At times we fail to see the bigger picture. In Africa, very few countries have ever held elections as peaceful and credible as Zimbabwe’s. So, by African standards, our elections are actually an example for other countries to emulate, copy and improve. In a class if a student gets 70% while a few others get less than 60% and the rest get less than half it wud be unwise to criticise the best student but to encourage him/her to aim for 90% next time. Lets take pride in our country and pray for its restoration and improvement in its electoral processes knowing fully well that most of the African countries are lagging far behind us in terms of electoral reform.
wrong analogy…the student got 20% last time…getting 35% this time round is still a fail and not worthy of praise…why should we accept anything less than a pass?
I am trying to see your point here and I am getting less than 5% so I think the teacher is somewhat a zanoid trying to convince us that actualy all was well with the elections!!?? Yes I take pride in my beautiful country and I pray constantly for the removal of the evil, hateful, manipulating, thieving, murdering, corrupt zanoid government we have that is destroying our beautiful country.
Wataura zvako wena. Well said. There is room for improvement and as our brothers follow behind.
Fellow Zimbabwean we should tell the world our reall story.1) In 2008 when MDC won there was havoc in the whole country. Some of our people lost their full arm or just marred and some even their lives loved ones.2)The MDC is told by these co~called African leaders to get a unity goverment,well in a bid to help its people they agree yet in that government they do not probe the perpetrators of the violence so they would face the law.This was a trap the same in Kenya.
Thank Mr Chikomo
Right Ivor! Look we are not a bunch of animals devoid of reason. If a student continues failing the same question,same subject, same grade and same school the next thing is to drop out from school ZANU Pf should drop out from ruling Zimbabwe They have failed and will continue to fail Zimbabwe. How can we expect to do better the next time. How many times have Mugabe failed Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans. That’s why there is the word CHANGE. You can’t improve failure. You change strategy. ANYWAY we are talking to animals to ZANU the zealots. predatory and corrupt and will never change but there is an adage which says if you can.t change then change shall change you one day.
The AU and SADC report on the Zimbabwean is a really farce.It is a group of a Mafia gangsters protecting their political bosses throughout the countinent.To them there is no such as Justice,Freedom,Democracy,or even the observance of Human Rights for the African people of this continent.All the current African leaders considers themselves as Godfathers of the African continent.They brought independence and they must never be challenged at all.So they device all dirty tricks to rigg elections like they did in Zimbabwe.The Zimbabwean elections were rigged by the Military,ZRP and other security institutions and of supervised by the Zimbabwe Electrol Commission (ZEC).We must watch more elections to come on this African continent.and mark my words the trend has been set from the Zimbabwean election of 2013.
dis·grace (ds-grs)
n.
1. Loss of honor, respect, or reputation; shame.
2. The condition of being strongly and generally disapproved.
3. One that brings disfavor or discredit: Your handwriting is a disgrace.
tr.v. dis·graced, dis·grac·ing, dis·grac·es
1. To bring shame or dishonor on: disgraced the entire community.
2. To deprive of favor or good repute; treat with disfavor: The family was disgraced by the scandal.
It is a shame to hear the obvious that Zimbabwe elections were free and credible. Konga kuti mbudzi yadla nyama mbg,wa iliyapo.
My comment was in reference to the AU report. The majority of the responses to my comment were clearly desregarding that important element of the argument. The percentages used are very interesting. For argument’s sake, if Zim elections ar awarded a 5%, 20% or 35% mark, how do the rest of African countries perform, in % ? How many and which countries wud get higher marks? U wil be surprised that Zim is way ahead.
the obseversers unfortunately so the situation differently from the MDC-T aligned NGOS. Try gain in 2018 and meanwhile please can you let us continue with our lives. we are tired of the NGOs getting money on the basis of fabricated lies of the so called deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe.