The United States has strongly condemned the use of intimidation and disruption of lawful election observers throughout the electoral period in Zimbabwe.
This is contained in a press statement by the U.S. Department of State, Spokesperson, Matthew Miller.
He said that the U.S. is committed to the people of Zimbabwe and their right to choose their leaders in free and fair elections conducted in a transparent manner.
“We commend those who sought to exercise their right to vote peacefully.
‘’Although the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) has announced the results of the country’s recent presidential election, multiple observation missions have expressed deep concerns and stated that the country’s electoral process did not meet regional and international standards for credibility.
‘’For example, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and other international electoral observation missions cited problems with transparency, independence, fairness, and credibility at all stages of the electoral process.
‘’The United States notes, in particular, the systemic bias against political opposition during the pre-election period and reports from respected civil society groups that ZEC officials pressured election observers to sign altered polling station result forms.’’
The U.S., however, called on the ZEC to make the disaggregated polling station results publicly available to increase confidence in the result tabulation process.
It noted that on August 23 the government arrested staff from respected civil society organizations engaged in lawful election observation in accordance with the Electoral Act.
According to the U.S., these arrests prevented efforts to independently verify ZEC’s announced results, a fundamental component of democratic processes in the region and around the world.
It added that furthermore, threats directed against members of the SADC Electoral Observation Mission are dangerous, and the U.S. called upon the Government of Zimbabwe to cease these inflammatory and unacceptable attacks.
‘’These actions belie President Mnangagwa’s repeated pledges to respect the rule of law, transparency, and accountability.
‘’The United States is engaging regional leaders to share our concerns, including what this means for the international community’s nascent efforts to reengage the Zimbabwean government.
There is much at stake for the people of Zimbabwe and the region. We urge all Zimbabweans to remain peaceful and pursue grievances through established legal channels.’’
