by Staff Reporter
The Head of the European Union Election Observer Mission, Emar Brok is expected in the country tomorrow ahead of next week’s harmonised elections.
Brok will be leading a 140 member EU Election Observer mission that has been in the country since June 6, 2018.
The EU EOM made the revelations on its twitter handle and revealed that a preliminary assessment would be done two days after the elections.
Speaking on his impending arrival, Brok said, “It's crucial that all candidates and parties contesting the 30 July polls demonstrate their commitment to the values of the office they are competing for and put above all else the national interest and the democratic aspirations of all Zimbabweans.
“The presence of international observers and the visit of the Elders are a reminder that the polls are a historic opportunity for political parties to conduct themselves in the interest of all Zimbabweans to ensure credible, transparent, and inclusive polls,” he said.
“The President, government and opposition have all called for the holding of credible elections and it is important that the necessary conditions are in place in order for ZEC to build confidence with the voters in preparing for the polls,” he emphasized.
The arrival of Brok follows the arrival of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) observer team led by the Angolan Secretary for Foreign Affairs Antonio Thethe, African Union (AU) Observer team led by former Liberian President Selif Johnson and Commonwealth Observer Team led by former Ghananian President, John Dramani Mahama.
Mahama revealed that the commonwealth observers would be deployed across the ten provinces on 28 July 2018 and that a report would be compiled after elections.
The report, he added, would be used in its consideration of Zimbabwe’s request to be readmitted into the commonwealth.
The participation of the international independent observer team is at the invitation of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and it also resonated to his re-engagement with the international community as well as call for a free, fair and credible violent free election.
