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This article participates on the following special index pages:
2008 harmonised elections - Index of articles
Statement
on disturbing developments unfolding in Zimbabwe
Southern
African Legal Assistance Network (SALAN)
April 17, 2008
The Southern
African Legal Assistance Network (SALAN), a network of legal aid
NGOs in Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania,
Zambia, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe joins the regional and international
community in noting, with great concern, the disturbing developments
unfolding in Zimbabwe. Though acknowledging the effort made by the
SADC member states to mediate an end to the election crisis in Zimbabwe,
SALAN joins the rest of the world in adding its voice to the following
demands:
Delay
by ZEC to announce presidential elections results
- SALAN regrets
the continued failure on the part of the Zimbabwean Electoral
Commission (ZEC) to disclose the results of the election, without
any reasonable explanation
- This inexplicable
delay in the announcement of presidential election results is
both unwarranted and unjustifiable and has caused unnecessary
anxiety and heightened tension in Zimbabwe inviting suspicion
that electoral outcomes will be manipulated and that the Zimbabwean
peoples' peacefully registered political preferences will be contemptuously
discounted.
- SALAN therefore
calls for the expeditious release of all outstanding Zimbabwean
electoral results in accordance with due process of the law, including
that the verification and counting must be done in the presence
of candidates and / or their agents.
- SALAN also
urges the Government of Zimbabwe to desist from interfering with
the work of ZEC and enable ZEC to immediately announce results
of the presidential vote taken on 29 March.
Need
for all stakeholders to respect the results
In the event of a run off, SALAN calls for the following:
- Establishment
of a credible, independent and impartial election management body;
- An environment
of peace, free from intimidation and political violence;
- That the
run-off is conducted within the framework of Zimbabwe's electoral
laws;
- That a mechanism
be put in place so that delays and technical challenges encountered
by the ZEC are given public explanation to avoid a repeat of the
current situation;
- That the
presence of electoral observer missions are afforded necessary
access and accreditation.
- We urge
all parties to adhere to and respect the electoral results.
Solidarity
with the people of Zimbabwe
In solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe SALAN:
- Urges the
SADC and its member states to provide all necessary support to
Zimbabwe to enable it to peacefully transform the electoral and
political crisis in that country into an opportunity for the development
of a sustainable democracy.
- SALAN calls
for the immediate cessation of all acts of political violence
and intimidation; all those engaging in acts of political violence,
especially militia groups should be dealt with in accordance with
the law. We urge all the political parties of Zimbabwe to exercise
restraint and desist from employing intimidatory tactics
- SALAN calls
on the Government of Zimbabwe to guarantee the safety and freedom
of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission officials, local election observers,
pro democracy activists and journalists as well as opposition
members and supporters now, and during the run off
- Lastly SALAN
salutes the Zimbabweans and their organizations who have courageously
spoken out
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