Mnangagwa re-elected, observer missions raise concerns

Curtailed rights, a lack of a level playing field compounded by intimidation, and disorderly voting processes during Zimbabwe’s national elections last week were some of the flaws identified by several electoral observer missions.

But incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to lose little sleep over the criticism after he won 52.6 percent of the vote and Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the main opposition party, took 44 percent, according to official results announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) late on Saturday.

In separate preliminary statements following last week's general elections, observer missions from the African Union, the European Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) hailed the peaceful environment that characterised the pre-election period and voting day.

Areas of improvement

However, while hailing the peaceful polls, the missions also criticised some aspects thereof, with the SADC observer mission stating some aspects of the elections fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021).

The SADC mission further noted that the country was generally calm and peaceful during the pre-election and voting periods. It, however, said there were areas that needed to be improved pertaining to, among others, access to the voters’ roll, nomination fees and state-owned media coverage.

The mission called on the relevant election stakeholders in Zimbabwe to timeously give the public access to the voter roll in order to improve perceptions amongst the public, political parties and candidates.

As for state-owned media coverage, the mission urged the relevant media regulatory authorities to ensure the implementation of measures that require impartiality in the coverage of political events by state-owned media.

"ZEC is urged to strengthen transparency in the procurement process and delivery of all voting materials, including ballot papers, and put in place a monitoring system that includes the participation and verification by electoral stakeholders. In addition, there is a need for the Electoral Act to be revised to put in place clear timeframes within which these processes should be completed," the mission said.

It has encouraged individuals to employ the legal mechanisms for addressing electoral disputes and to communicate their opinions responsibly.

Tense atmosphere

The European Union’s elections observer team, which described the atmosphere as a progressively tense atmosphere in some locations, said the polling day was free from violence overall, although marked by evident voter frustration, occasionally long queues, and overcrowding due to delayed openings in the affected areas.

The EU mission also indicated that it saw flyers in Bulawayo and Harare falsely informing voters that the Citizens Coalition for Change was boycotting elections.

"During the election process, fundamental freedoms were increasingly curtailed, both in the passing of regressive legal changes like the patriotic provisions to the Criminal Code and by acts of violence and intimidation, which resulted in a climate of fear," read the statement.

The campaign presented voters with a range of viewpoints, but there was a lack of a level playing field among contestants due to undue limitations and observed cases of coercion and intimidation.

The EU mission also stated: "The campaign was moderately visible, and the atmosphere was calm but underpinned by palpable tensions. Freedom of assembly was unduly restricted in many cases by the arbitrary implementation of the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act. Police used force to disperse several opposition gatherings. Despite appeals for peace by various actors, some instances of violence took place, including one killing. These cases of intimidation and violence increased as election day neared."