Zimbabwe’s just ended harmonised elections lacked credibility due to flawed procedures and intimidation of voters, election observers from the United States have said.
The August 23 to 24 elections saw nearly 4, 5 million people voting in presidential, parliamentary and local government elections that were marred by late delivery of ballot papers in opposition strongholds of Bulawayo, Harare and Mutare.
According to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's (Zec), President Emmerson Mnangagwa got 52.6 percent of the vote against closest rival and Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa who garnered 44%
In its preliminary observer report released on Thursday, the Carter Centre noted that although the polls were held in a largely peaceful environment, they were characterised by “deep flaws,” which have necessitated calls for ZEC to “release polling-station level results”.
“The Carter Centre’s election observation mission found that Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections took place in a restricted political environment and that administration of the elections lacked independence and transparency in key areas,” the mission said.
The Centre said a number of critical technical aspects of the process “were poorly or opaquely implemented, reducing the transparency and credibility of the elections.”
“Given the highly polarised post-election environment and lack of trust among political stakeholders, the Centre stressed that it is critical that the electoral commission publish detailed results at the polling-station level on a timely basis so that political parties and observers can cross-verify the results, in accordance with international best practice, to help ensure the transparency and credibility of the election process.”
It added: “The 2023 electoral process did not adequately respect Zimbabwe’s regional and international commitments for democratic and inclusive elections, which made it difficult for contestants to compete on an equal basis and prevented the genuine expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people.”
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The Carter Centre has observed more than 110 elections in over 40 different countries since 1989 with its missions conducting work in accordance with regional and international human rights obligations and standards for democratic elections.
Prior to the August 23 elections, the Centre revealed that the bulk of its observers had not been granted permission to observe electoral processes despite an initial invitation from the government.
