Sadc observers commit not to endorsing a sham election in Zimbabwe
Meanwhile, the MDC Alliance is leading protests regarding issues such as the design of the ballot paper and security around them
Harare — The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) observer mission says it will not endorse a bogus election in Zimbabwe. The 63-member Sadc team is led by Angola’s secretary of state in the external relations ministry‚ Tete Antonio. After a meeting at the weekend, Antonio said political parties in Harare said they would not endorse a sham election, as their mandate was to witness a fully democratic process. Political instability in Lesotho‚ skirmishes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)‚ Madagascar — where elections are due in November — and Zimbabwe’s military-engineered removal of Robert Mugabe have cast a bad light on the region in recent years. "We spoke [to the parties] about consolidating democracy and we understood that democracy is a process and elections are only a part of the process. With the issue that was raised regarding reforms‚ we understand that steps were undertaken and we have taken note that 13 changes were done‚" Antonio said. The MDC Alliance is...
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