THE Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ) yesterday said they were setting up a mediation team to help bring together President Emmerson Mnangagwa and MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa in the event that the presidential poll results to be released later this week are disputed.
BY TAFADZWA MUTACHA
Bishop Rudolf Nyandoro told journalists and election observers in Harare that the church was duty-bound to protect the needs of the people during and after the election period. “We, as the church, are the conscience of the nation and we hear from the people and (from) what they will be saying. We are also preparing a mediation team for any eventuality. We will also engage with the people. We won’t just look because the elections are over, but we will continue to be with our people,” Nyandoro said.
The cleric hailed the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) for a generally smooth conduct of elections and highlighted that ballot counting started immediately after polls were closed, while those that were still in queues at 7pm were allowed to vote.
“Counting of votes in most polling stations was peaceful and started immediately after the close of polls at 7pm according to the Electoral Act,” Nyandoro said.
CCJPZ observers also identified concerns in the observation process as a significant number of voters, especially in some rural and marginalised communities, were assisted and that the names and pictures of contesting candidates on the ballot papers were too small and difficult to read, leading to many voters taking more time in the ballot booth.
Nyandoro said they were still waiting for reports from their observers around the country to make an overall verdict on the harmonised elections, which will be captured in their final election report.
