Pretoria - The South African government says successful elections in Zimbabwe will not only be good for the people of that country, but will also contribute to improved regional security.
“This will create positive conditions for socio-economic development, contributing to an improvement in the quality of life for the people of Zimbabwe and the region,” International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim said at a briefing in Pretoria on Thursday.
Ebrahim said the Global Political Agreement (GPA) was important in making sure all the necessary measures were taken to create a conducive environment for the holding of peaceful, credible, free and fair elections, in order to reach an outcome that clearly reflects the will of the people of Zimbabwe.
He said government welcomed the fact that the overall atmosphere remained calm, as no major instances of violence or intimidation have been reported.
Ebrahim said South Africa hoped there wouldn’t be a repeat of the 2008 events, where the announcement of the results was delayed, stoking concerns about poll rigging.
President Robert Mugabe won the run-off after the Movement for Democratic Change’s Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out amid alleged violence against his supporters.
Over six million Zimbabweans who have registered to vote will go to the polls on July 31 to choose a president, more than 200 National Assembly members, and nearly 2 000 local councillors.
A presidential candidate must garner 51 percent of all valid votes cast to be declared the winner. If not, a run-off will be held in September, according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
The country's veteran President Mugabe and his rival Prime Minister Tsvangirai are among the five presidential hopefuls in the upcoming polls.
With regards to reports suggesting that Mugabe and his party plan to rig the polls, Ebrahim said they would await the reports from the observer missions on the ground, adding that it was still premature to comment.
The eyes of the region and the international community are closely monitoring these elections.
Close to 6 000 Zimbabwean observers will monitor polls. International observers will include representatives from the African Union (AU), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
AU Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma is already in Zimbabwe to assess the country's preparations for the polls.
Accompanied by the AU’s Commissioner for Political Affairs and Deputy Head of the AU Observer Mission, Aisha Abdullahi, Dlamini Zuma is expected to meet with a number of stakeholders, including the ZEC and political candidates.
“We are here as a team,” the chairperson told media upon her arrival at the Harare International Airport yesterday.
The team, she said, comprises long- and short-term observers. The long-term observers have been on the ground for a while and have been across the country.
“We are fairly well informed but we thought it important to come to talk to people ourselves,” Dlamini Zuma said. – SAnews.gov.za
