What the US said about Zimbabwe’s elections yesterday

The United States yesterday said it was deeply concerned about the lack of transparency in electoral preparations, the continued partisan behaviour by state security institutions, and the technical and logistical issues hampering the administration of credible and transparent elections in Zimbabwe.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell told a press briefing that Zimbabwe, the Southern African Development Community and the African Union should accept nothing short of SADC and internationally accepted standards of electoral credibility, fairness, and transparency.

He said he was not sure if Secretary of State John Kerry had written to President Robert Mugabe to express US concern.

Zimbabwe is holding its elections at the end of this month. Special voting has already been concluded though the Movement for Democratic Change had gone to court to stop the voting because of alleged irregularities.

The other faction of the MDC has asked the African Union to postpone the elections and the case will be heard on Friday.

Below is the transcript of what Ventrell said about Zimbabwe:

QUESTION: Sounds like you’re saying that those conditions are not there.

MR. VENTRELL: Well, again, I don’t want to preview what we’re not yet – where we haven’t gotten to yet. But we’ve been deeply concerned and disappointed that the direction of this is the elections moving forward in the absence of reforms that the Government of Zimbabwe and SADC themselves agreed to in the Global Political Agreement and the SADC electoral roadmap. So that includes the security sector, media, and other reforms. And we call on the Government of Zimbabwe, SADC, and the African Union to accept nothing short of SADC and internationally accepted standards of electoral credibility, fairness, and transparency.

QUESTION: The election campaign is ramping up, got elections at the end of the year. Are the conditions there in the country – and would you say that the conditions within the country make for a free and fair election currently?

MR. VENTRELL: Let me say, Lesley, that this is a critical moment for the people of Zimbabwe. Progress has been made since the Global Political Agreement was signed in 2008. Zimbabwe’s economy has begun to recover from devastating economic mismanagement and hyperinflation, and the people of Zimbabwe peacefully approved a new constitution in March. The United States joins the Southern African Development Community and our international partners in calling for elections in Zimbabwe that are peaceful, transparent, and credible. Elections that do not meet these standards risk undermining the progress that Zimbabwe has made since 2008. We are deeply concerned about the lack of transparency in electoral preparations, the continued partisan behavior by state security institutions, and the technical and logistical issues hampering the administration of a credible and transparent election.

QUESTION: Sounds like you’re saying that those conditions are not there.

MR. VENTRELL: Well, again, I don’t want to preview what we’re not yet – where we haven’t gotten to yet. But we’ve been deeply concerned and disappointed that the direction of this is the elections moving forward in the absence of reforms that the Government of Zimbabwe and SADC themselves agreed to in the Global Political Agreement and the SADC electoral roadmap. So that includes the security sector, media, and other reforms. And we call on the Government of Zimbabwe, SADC, and the African Union to accept nothing short of SADC and internationally accepted standards of electoral credibility, fairness, and transparency.

So we’ve raised our concerns. You know where we are on the sanctions policy, that we’ve wanted these free, transparent, and credible elections, and that could have an impact on our sanctions policy. But I don’t have anything for you in terms of the elections that we haven’t arrived at.

QUESTION: I understand Secretary Kerry has written to President Mugabe. Do you know what he said in that?

MR. VENTRELL: I’d have to check on that. I’m not sure if there’s been correspondence directly in that channel. You know we have an ambassador on the ground who communicates directly with the government, but I’d have to check on that.

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