SALAN Statement on Zimbabwe
The Southern African Legal Assistance Network (SALAN), a network of legal aid NGOs in Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe joins the regional and international community in noting, with great concern, the disturbing developments unfolding in Zimbabwe. Though acknowledging the effort made by the SADC member states to mediate an end to the election crisis in Zimbabwe, SALAN joins the rest of the world in adding its voice to the following demands:
DELAY BY ZEC TO ANNOUNCE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS RESULTS
• SALAN regrets the continued failure on the part of the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC) to disclose the results of the election, without any reasonable explanation
• This inexplicable delay in the announcement of Presidential election results is both unwarranted and unjustifiable and has caused unnecessary anxiety and heightened tension in Zimbabwe inviting suspicion that electoral outcomes will be manipulated and that the Zimbabwean peoples' peacefully registered political preferences will be contemptuously discounted.
• SALAN therefore calls for the expeditious release of all outstanding Zimbabwean electoral results in accordance with due process of the law, including that the verification and counting must be done in the presence of candidates and / or their agents.
• SALAN also urges the Government of Zimbabwe to desist from interfering with the work of ZEC and enable ZEC to immediately announce results of the presidential vote taken on 29 March.
DELAY BY ZEC TO ANNOUNCE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS RESULTS
• SALAN regrets the continued failure on the part of the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC) to disclose the results of the election, without any reasonable explanation
• This inexplicable delay in the announcement of Presidential election results is both unwarranted and unjustifiable and has caused unnecessary anxiety and heightened tension in Zimbabwe inviting suspicion that electoral outcomes will be manipulated and that the Zimbabwean peoples' peacefully registered political preferences will be contemptuously discounted.
• SALAN therefore calls for the expeditious release of all outstanding Zimbabwean electoral results in accordance with due process of the law, including that the verification and counting must be done in the presence of candidates and / or their agents.
• SALAN also urges the Government of Zimbabwe to desist from interfering with the work of ZEC and enable ZEC to immediately announce results of the presidential vote taken on 29 March.
NEED FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS TO RESPECT THE RESULTS
In the event of a run off, SALAN calls for the following:
• Establishment of a credible, independent and impartial election management body;
• An environment of peace, free from intimidation and political violence;
• That the run-off is conducted within the framework of Zimbabwe's electoral laws;
• That a mechanism be put in place so that delays and technical challenges encountered by the ZEC are given public explanation to avoid a repeat of the current situation;
• That the presence of electoral observer missions are afforded necessary access and accreditation.
• We urge all parties to adhere to and respect the electoral results.
SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE
In solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe SALAN:
• Urges the SADC and its member states to provide all necessary support to Zimbabwe to enable it to peacefully transform the electoral and political crisis in that country into an opportunity for the development of a sustainable democracy.
• SALAN calls for the immediate cessation of all acts of political violence and intimidation; all those engaging in acts of political violence, especially militia groups should be dealt with in accordance with the law. We urge all the political parties of Zimbabwe to exercise restraint and desist from employing intimidatory tactics
• SALAN calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to guarantee the safety and freedom of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission officials, local election observers, pro democracy activists and journalists as well as opposition members and supporters now, and during the run off
• Lastly SALAN salutes the Zimbabweans and their organisations who have courageously spoken out
For more information Contact:
Juliet Kaira Chibuta
Coordinator
Southern African Legal Assistance Network (SALAN) Secretariat
6th Floor Woodgate House
Box 35162
Lusaka, Zambia
Tel/Fax: 260-211-231845
E-mail: [email][email protected]
Website: www.salan.org
- SALAN Members -
DITSHWANELO- The Botswana Centre for Human Rights; Centre for Advice, Research & Education on Rights (CARER)-Malawi; Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC)-Tanzania; Liga Mocambique Dos Direitos Humanos (LDH) Mozambique; Legal Assistance Centre (LAC)-Namibia; The Black Sash-South Africa; Legal Resources Centre (LRC)-South Africa; Zambia Civic Education Association (ZCEA)-Zambia; Legal Resources Foundation (LRF)-Zambia; Zanzibar Legal Services Centre (ZLSC)-Zanzibar; Legal Resources Foundation (LRF)- Zimbabwe