by Bayano Valy – SANF 05 no 33
The Mozambican Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Isabel Nkavadeka, says “pre-judgements have no merit”, and countries of the north should listen to election observers from the region.
Nkavadeka, who is leading the government delegation from Mozambique to observe the elections in Zimbabwe, said that it was fitting that African countries should conduct their own election verifications, and should not be overly concerned by what the international community says.
She was reacting to charges by the United States and Australia that the election process in Zimbabwe has not been free and fair even before the counting has finished and before observer missions have reported.
“What the invited countries, political parties, and observers saw was the reality, and it doesn’t help observing from miles away,” said Nkavadeka.
In the final analysis, it is the observer missions that are on the ground that are going to deliver a verdict and not “those who were not even present.”
Nkavadeka said that the region has the capacity and skills to conduct its own polls without the interference of other countries. Furthermore, the region should walk towards a situation where it is the citizens of each country who do their own observation.
Mozambique has also sent a senior member of the ruling Frelimo party to observe the elections, Mariano Matsinhe, who is a member of the party’s central committee, and member of the Assembly of the Republic, the country’s parliament.
Matsinhe, who has long experience of observing elections in the region over the past 15 years, said Zimbabwe’s parliamentary elections mark a new stage in the region’s transition.
As in all transitions, he said, the process can be difficult and slow. “This is a transitional process, and transitions take time.” He called on all the players to understand and support the changes that are taking place.
The opposition camp in the region is trying hard to dislodge the ruling parties, which are more often than not liberation movements, and yet they seem not to be patient enough to build up their support base, he added.
Matsinhe said that his own party, Frelimo, was for changes but they had to run their course naturally, and the most important aspect was “to introduce improvements” to the region’s political framework.
Frelimo is a strong ally of Zanu PF – Zimbabwe freedom fighters were hosted in Mozambique during their war of liberation against white colonial rule, and Zimbabwean soldiers fought side by side with their Mozambican counterparts when Mozambique was ravaged by a war of destabilisation, waged by the former rebel movement, Renamo.
Mozambique has been through its own transition over the past decade, with both Frelimo and Renamo represented in the national assembly. Frelimo remains the governing party following elections in December 2004, but has had a smooth leadership transition from President Joaquim Chissano to the current President, Armando Guebuza, who took office earlier this year.
Matsinhe said Zimbabwe should be praised for introducing new measures and legislation in line with the SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections.
The guidelines were adopted in August 2004 at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Ordinary Summit in Mauritius, and Zimbabwe has become the first country in the region to formally implement them.
This entailed the changing of the country’s electoral legislation. This was done through parliament, with strong representation from both government and opposition parties, and parliament also identified and approved the list of members of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
What is important is that “we shouldn’t emit opinions or judgements on the basis of the problems a particular country might have, but it should be according to what we see on the ground,” said Matsinhe.
He said that the statements made by the US, and Australia smirked more of a case of sour grapes. “The fact that the elections were peaceful makes them unhappy.” (SARDC)
