The British Embassy in Harare has issued a statement regarding Zimbabwe’s recent harmonised elections. While acknowledging a peaceful environment during the elections, the embassy expressed concerns about the lack of transparency by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). They highlighted restricted access to the voters’ roll, biased reporting in state media, and the passing of repressive legislation that jeopardizes the rights of Zimbabweans to freedom of expression, assembly, and association.
The embassy echoed the preliminary findings of International Election Observation Missions (IEOMs), which identified significant areas where the pre-election period and election day did not meet international and regional standards. Observer missions also observed delays in opening polling stations in certain urban areas and received reports of intimidation by the ZANU-PF-aligned Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ) group.
Furthermore, the embassy expressed concerns about the arrest of 41 staff members from local election monitoring groups, who were detained by the Zimbabwean police on the night of August 23. These concerns align with the observations made by the IEOMs. Read the statement:
The British Embassy in Harare commends Zimbabwean voters for their participation in this week’s Harmonised Elections. We applaud the patience and resilience shown by so many Zimbabweans in their determination to exercise their democratic rights, including queuing for long hours outside polling stations. We are encouraged by the spirit of peace and calm that prevailed across the country on election day.
The electoral process remains underway. However, we echo the preliminary findings of International Election Observation Missions (IEOMs) which have identified significant areas where the pre-election period and election day have fallen short of international and regional standards. These include a lack of transparency by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), including through restricted access to the voters’ roll, a bias in state media reporting and the passing of repressive legislation that threatens the ability of Zimbabweans to exercise their rights to freedoms of expression, assembly and association. Observer missions also noted long delays in the opening of polling stations in some urban areas, as well as allegations of intimidation by the ZANU-PF-aligned Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ) group.
We also echo the concerns of IEOMs regarding the arrest of 41 staff members from local election monitoring groups arrested by the Zimbabwean police on the night of 23 August. Independent observers must be able to carry out their duties freely.
We support the calls on ZEC to deliver transparent counting and verification processes. In the event of electoral disputes we support calls on all parties and citizens to follow legal and constitutional processes to maintain peace and calm.
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