Zimbabweans went to the polls on Monday to choose a president, National Assembly members and councilors.
In its preliminary statement, the mission said the elections were held in line with the country’s constitution and in a peaceful environment that provided Zimbabweans with the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
“The pre-election phase and voting proceeded in a peaceful and orderly manner and largely in line with key provisions of legal and constitutional frameworks and in conformity with SADC provisions and guidelines governing democratic elections,” the mission said.
“The harmonized elections represent a political watershed in Zimbabwe’s history as they may open a new chapter that can lead to socio-economic recovery and consolidation of democracy,” it said.
The SADC election observer mission urged the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to ensure the electoral law is expeditiously aligned to the new constitution and to put in place mechanisms that will ensure Zimbabweans in the diaspora will vote in the future.
The ruling ZANU-PF party led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa looks set to win a parliamentary majority after results announced so far show that out of the 153 National Assembly seats, the party has won 110, followed by the opposition MDC Alliance with 41, while one seat went to an independent candidate and another to the opposition NPF party that is reportedly linked to former President Robert Mugabe.
There are 210 parliamentary seats in Zimbabwe. ZEC has said presidential results will be out by Aug. 4.- Xinhua
(189 VIEWS)
This post was last modified on August 1, 2018 10:30 am
The gazetting into law of the payment of quarterly taxes on a 50-50 basis in…
Zimbabwe has today unveiled a ZiG276.4 billion budget for 2025 during which it expects the…
Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has repeatedly stated that he is not going to contest a…
The Zimbabwe Gold fell against the United States dollar for five consecutive days from Monday…
An Indian think tank has described Starlink, a satellite internet service provider which recently entered…
Zimbabwe’s new currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), firmed against the United States dollars for 10…