Pretoria - The Zimbabwe national elections were peaceful, compared to previous elections that were mired in violence, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.
“To me, having cast my eye back to what happened in the last elections, something good has happened in Zimbabwe. The elections were so peaceful. This was another Zimbabwe … an achievement we must not undermine,” said the President in an interview with the SABC's new 24-hour news channel, on Thursday evening.
The President’s comments come as Zimbabweans cast their votes on Wednesday in the country’s general elections.
Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Thursday cried foul of the polls, saying it was a "farce" and did not reflect the will of the people, even though the electoral process was endorsed by observers from the southern African region.
There had been serious violence in the country in the past, said Zuma, adding that this had been a concern.
He said that elections were always difficult to make a judgment on, particularly before the final counting of votes.
“In the end, it is those who are doing the counting who then are going to produce the numbers which will indicate who has really won,” said Zuma, who further questioned whether there was evidence of vote rigging.
“I’m expecting that when the results come out, people will be able to see the facts,” he said.
Zuma added that he hoped that people would be able to declare the elections as free, fair and credible.
He said that people were complaining about how the elections were carried out, however, surprisingly “the majority of voting stations opened on time”.
He said credit needed to be given where it was due.
Zuma’s comments were made following the launch of the national broadcaster’s 24-hour news channel in Johannesburg. The channel was launched on DStv's channel 404 at 6pm.
Tsvangirai is seen as the most serious challenger to the country's veteran President Robert Mugabe's 33-year rule of the country. Mugabe has led Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980 and his Zanu- PF party is confident of an overwhelming victory in the polls.
About 6.4 million Zimbabweans were registered to vote in Wednesday's general elections.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission says it will announce the results in five days.-SAnews.gov.za
