Staff Reporter

Former Cabinet Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo has said that the absence of Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s inauguration today is insignificant, the Harare Post can report.

In his X account, Prof. Moyo highlighted that Hichikema’s absence would not affect the inauguration in any way, nor would it nullify the electoral win by President Mnangagwa.

"It will not be the start or the end of the world for Zimbabwe if Zambia's president Hakainde Hichilema does not attend tomorrow's (today's) inauguration. Whether President Hichilema attends the inauguration tomorrow is entirely up to him; no big deal.

"The proposition that the inauguration will have no legitimacy if he does not attend is wholly absurd and preposterous.  The Zambian President is only that: the President of the Republic of Zambia. He is not the President of SADC, not even the President of SADC's Organ Troika on Politics, Defence, and Security, but only the current Chairperson of the Organ," Prof. Moyo said.

He further exposed Hichilema’s plans to undermine the people of Zimbabwe’s democratic electoral processes by trying to annul the elections using his Head of SADC Election Observer Mission.

"It's now an open public secret that, as the Chairperson of the Organ, President Hichilema appointed Dr. Nevers Mumba in bad faith to head the SADC Election Observation Mission (SEOM), which made an outrageous preliminary statement on Zimbabwe's 2023 Harmonised General Election that is full of untested hearsay, has an inconclusive conclusion that is not supported by the statement's hearsay narrative, and makes recommendations that are not in any way related to its scurrilous conclusion.

"As a matter of fact, SEOM's preliminary statement did not make any findings; it also did not report any direct observations except about what it observed on election or polling day. Instead, SEOM reported that its observers heard, not observed, but heard a lot of things about the delimitation exercise, the lack of freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, nomination of candidates, participation of women, independence of the judiciary, alleged voter intimidation, lack of access to state media, and observations on polling day about the late opening of some polling stations and the absence or shortage of voting materials," said Prof. Moyo.

Furthermore, Moyo highlights that the SEOM preliminary could not say the election was not free and fair because of a lack of evidence.

"Notably, in its preliminary statement, SEOM did not say that the election was not a reflection of the will of the people of Zimbabwe. It could not dare say that. In the same vain, SEOM did not say that the election was not credible or that it was neither free nor fair. These things that SEOM did not say have been said for SEOM by the usual merchants of regime change and their mouthpieces.

"Also, and quite importantly, SEOM said some aspects fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021); it did not say all aspects, just some aspects. In its conclusion, SEOM did not specify exactly which aspects it was referring to.

"It is therefore banana republic politics to spend time wondering how outsiders like President Hichilema will respond to SEOM's preliminary statement or to invitations to the inauguration. It's up to them. Elections are a national and not an international responsibility. Many countries do not even hold elections at all, but they are members of the UN in good standing. The ludicrous idea that the inauguration will lack legitimacy if President Hichilema does not attend is absurd because the legitimacy of the elections or governance in Zimbabwe does not come from Hichilema, a foreigner with no standing in Zimbabwe's constitutional order. Legitimacy is derived from the people of Zimbabwe, and that is the position in the Constitution of Zimbabwe in sections 3(2) regarding the principles of good governance, which bind the state and all institutions and agencies of government at every level; 88(1) regarding executive authority; 117(1) regarding legislative authority; and 162 regarding judicial authority, he said.

Moyo concludes by stressing that the SEOM's preliminary statement is not for President Hichilema, or Organ Troika, which he chairs, or Sadc, but for the Republic of Zimbabwe, whose government will receive and review the SEOM's recommendations on a take them or leave them basis. In any case, it should be emphasised that SEOM has only produced a preliminary, not a final, statement. Any preliminary statement is by definition a draft and is therefore subject to correction for its errors of commission and omission if its recommendations are to be taken seriously.

Meanwhile, President Hichilema’s failure to attend the inauguration today is proof that he's sulking because he wanted to use SEOM's preliminary statement for nefarious purposes in pursuit of a sinister agenda but was caught red-handed.