By Ebi Kesiena
European Union (EU) has stated that it will be the first to send an observer team to Zimbabwe next week, ahead of the 23 August elections, which will also be observed by the United Kingdom, the United States, and their geopolitical adversaries Russia, Belarus, and China.
EU, Jobst von Kirchmann met with Zimbabwe’s acting Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Amon Murwira in Harare, and the two signed a memorandum of understanding ahead of the elections.
According to Murwira, the EU and international observers should “observe, not monitor, the election process”.
In response, Kirchmann told the media that the EU envoy would follow the EU code of conduct, as well as Zimbabwean law.
“This election observation mission will follow Zimbabwean laws as well as the EU code of conduct. They will be strictly impartial,” he said.
Also, Kirchmann noted that the EU observation mission is a sign of commitment for Zimbabwe to hold credible, peaceful, and inclusive elections. This resonates with us and is the reason why we are deploying an election observer mission because we would like to contribute to a more robust electoral environment.
The EU team, like in other polls in Africa, will have 11 election experts arriving next week. They will be followed by 46 long-term observers who will arrive at the end of July and 44 short-term ones who will be in the country just before election day.
So far, 51 countries have been invited, as well as 17 international civil society organisations.
