In Summary
In his rejoinder, Mr Membe yesterday admitted
that as the leader of the 500-strong observer mission in the elections
he must have had an influence on the compiling of the report, but which
was not generally negative but said the report was, according to him,
accurate.
Dar es Salaam. The minister for Foreign Affairs
and International Cooperation Bernard Membe yesterday reacted to attacks
levelled against him by the Zimbabwe’s opposition, saying the Movement
for Democratic Change looking for someone to blame after the shock of
losing the elections.
Mr Tendai Biti, the MDC secretary-general accused
Mr Membe of “influencing” the final report compiled by the Southern
African Development Community (Sadc) that claimed that the recent
General Election in Zimbabwe was free and credible.
Mr Biti said that the report presented by Mr Membe
in Harare last Monday, was not only inaccurate and contradictory, but
had also not received the endorsement of the 15-country member block.
“The election fell far short of the Sadc
guidelines stipulating that elections should be free, fair, peaceful and
credible to be acceptable. The election did not pass this test. We are
deeply concerned with signs and evidence of an international and
regional body serving the interests of one party, which is the Zanu-PF,”
Mr Biti said.
He argued that if what was issued as the Sadc
report the Zimbabwe General Election is not condemned and scrutinised by
international law, the whole affair would set “a bad precedent.”
He added: “The rape of democracy in Zimbabwe is the rape of democracy across the continent.”
In his rejoinder, Mr Membe yesterday admitted that
as the leader of the 500-strong observer mission in the elections he
must have had an influence on the compiling of the report, but which was
not generally negative but said the report was, according to him,
accurate.
“MDC rejected the initial Sadc report. I would not
expect them to accept the final one… Having lost the election it would
be strange if they accepted any report that did not share their
perception of the elections,” Mr Membe told The Citizen.
The Sadc report had nevertheless found that the
elections, which returned the 89-year old Robert Mugabe to power, was
“very difficult” to be declared fair.
“We said and we want to reiterate that the
elections that took place on 31st July, 2013 were free. On the question
of credibility, a lot has been said to the negative.
There were so many other elements that when put
together elevated the election to a credible status. Therefore, this
election was generally credible,” Mr Membe had told reporters last
Monday when unveiling the Sadc report.
Explaining how the elections could be
simultaneously free and fair without being credible, Membe had told
reporters in Harare last week that “the elections... were free. Free in
the sense that candidates were free to campaign, free to associate, free
to express their views and the voters were free to cast their vote”.
But Mr Biti hinted that the MDC would ask Sadc to get Membe to withdraw the Monday statement.
“We have consulted with other countries and we are
fully aware that this was not a democratic report signed by everyone,”
Mr Biti, who is serving as Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister had told
reporters on Thursday last week.
But Mr Membe yesterday noted that the report was
endorsed by Sadc Troika on Politics Defence and Security which is
responsible for promoting peace and security in the SADC region.
“The report was signed by Tanzania, South Africa and Namibia which forms part of the Troika,” Mr Membe said yesterday.
He said MDC should forget about Sadc withdrawing
the report. “Why should the report be withdrawn? Will that make Zanu-PF
lose the elections? Or will that facilitate a rerun of the poll?” Mr
Membe queried.
MDC went to court to challenge the election
outcome soon after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission declared Mr Mugabe
the winner, but they later withdrew the case, citing failure by the
Commission to release key data that could have boosted their evidence.
“MDC though the Sadc report would have given them
new evidence to support a new court case to challenge the outcome of the
elections. They now seem to be in despair,” Mr Membe noted.
President Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe since the
independence from the minority white rule since 1980, won another term
in the July 31 elections after defeating his main challenger with 61 per
cent of the vote.
His MDC challenger Morgan Tsvangirai won 33 per
cent of the vote and denounced the elections even before the results
were announced the results were rigged.
source: The citizen
source: The citizen
