By Staff Reporter
AFTER two months of contested polls, the SADC (Southern African Development Community) has endorsed the elections and conveyed its congratulatory message to President Emmerson Mnangagwa on his victory, despite the SADC’s Election Observer Mission’s initial report which significant irregularities.
His Angolan counterpart, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, praised the elections as exemplary.
However, this commendation is at odds with the initial findings of SADC’s Election Observer Mission (EOM) during the August 23 and 24 polls in Zimbabwe.
The EOM’s initial report highlighted significant irregularities, such as delays in delivering voting materials to perceived opposition strongholds, voter intimidation, vote buying, judicial abuse, and restricted access to publicly owned media, which was predominantly controlled by the ruling Zanu PF party.
The main opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), led by Nelson Chamisa, secured 42% of the vote and has consistently asserted that the election was manipulated in favor of Mnangagwa, a perspective shared by many political analysts.
During a virtual SADC Extraordinary Summit Tuesday, Lourenço, the current Chairperson of the organization, commended the way Zimbabwe and Eswatini conducted their elections, hailing it as a victory for democracy.
“Allow me to congratulate President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe and His Majesty King Mswati III, the King of Eswatini, for the exemplary elections that were recently conducted in your countries,” said Lourenço.
“The tranquility and orderly manner in which they took place constituted a major victory for democracy and a significant contribution to peace, stability, and harmony among all living forces of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Kingdom of Eswatini.”
The Eswatini election is commonly perceived as a mockery of democracy because King Mswathi III has declined to delegate significant authority to the Parliament.
He stands as the sole remaining absolute monarch in the world.
