Observers cautious about Zimbabwe election results
(Vatican Radio) The party of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is claiming a landslide
victory in this week’s parliamentary elections. His main challenger, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, has alleged massive rigging and declared the election “null and
void.”
Electoral observers have taken a cautious view of the elections.
The
head of the Electoral Commissions of Southern African Development Community (SADC),
Notemba Tjipueja, praised a 'peaceful' election:
“The Mission also commends
ZEC, all political parties, candidates and the people of Zimbabwe for a peaceful,
credible and efficient electoral process, which was conducive for the people of Zimbabwe
to freely participate in the 2013 harmonized elections.”
However, the African
Union says it is reserving its judgment on whether Zimbabwe's elections were systematically
flawed until details of the disputed vote are clarified.
The head of the AU's
70-member observer mission, Olusegun Obasanjo (pictured), said in a press conference
on Friday that voting was peaceful but that observers noted “incidences that could
have been avoided and even tended to have breached the law.”
The mission is
asking election authorities in Zimbabwe to investigate reports that large numbers
of eligible voters were turned away from polling stations in Wednesday's vote.