Let me begin by commending SADC for supporting the liberties and rights of the people of Zimbabwe.What is generally being reported in the media is that Mugabe had buckled under pressure from SADC. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) said Monday it was forging ahead with preparations for a July 31 poll even after regional leaders directed the ruling coalition asks the Constitutional Court to extend the deadline for the vote. The Zec chairperson told editors in Harare that elections have been legally proclaimed and said the resolution of leaders of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (Sadc) who met in Mozambique on Saturday and directed government to seek a variation of the proclaimed date will not alter their preparations. However JUSTICE Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Tuesday filed an appeal against the Constitutional Court ruling ordering elections to be held on July 31. As it stands MDC-T has already accused Paddy Chinamasa of filing a court application so he deliberately loses the case and the Constitution Court upholds the decision that the elections must be held on the 31st of July. There are widespread reports of scores of people in Harare being unable to register as voters amid allegations that government officials were deliberately frustrating them.
This along with the continued deployment of military personnel in communities to intimidate and harass dissenting voices does not I believe set the scene for a Free and Fair election.
Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) released a statement on Tuesday June 18 calling on SADC to deploy observers.
“Given the short period to elections we therefore appeal to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU) to urgently deploy both long and short term observers to promote an human rights environment conducive for credible, free and fair elections.
“We strongly believe that, some of the aforementioned reforms can still be put in place if there is political will of ensuring the holding of a credible election"
WE ARE WATCHING!!!
Organising Secretary – ROHR Zimbabwe/Bradford Branch
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