Tendai Ziso

Government has questioned the semblance of the preliminary reports that were released yesterday by the SADC Electoral Observation Mission, The European Union and The Carter Centre, saying they all sound like grievances that were raised by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa during the build up to elections.

Speaking to journalists yesterday, Justice , Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said it was odd that the reports sounded like a script written by the same person showing that they heavily relied on what appeared to be the position of the CCC party.

“It is my grave concern that the EU has heavily relied on what appears to be the position of the CCC in attacking our democracy, our laws and our sovereignty,” he said.

“When we state that we are an enemy of none, it does not mean we are blind to the machinations of some elements that have imposed sanctions on us. And it is our sincere belief that we are moving forward towards re-engagement in earnest.” Said Ziyambi.

He said government had invited observers to do a fact finding Mission on the election conduct to help strengthen the country’s democracy. He accused the observer missions of doing the opposite, saying they were now acting like tools being used to attack the country’s democracy.

“When observers come to our country to observe elections, they have not come here to rewrite our laws,” he said.

“We have a Constitution that dictates what we are supposed to do, observers are there to follow whether our processes are within the confines of our laws.

“It is important to note that when observers come to the country, their mandate is limited to fact-finding related to the specific poll and not to a collection of grievances as witnessed in the report by SADC and EU.

“So, when we request our friends and other countries to come and observe our elections, they must be objective and pinpoint things that will enrich our democracy rather than becoming a tool to attack our sovereignty.”

Both SEOM and the E.U issued statements which cited similar electoral challenges which they pointed to have affected the credibility of this year’s elections