THE European Union says it is sending an additional 44 short-term observers to monitor the July 30 elections in Zimbabwe.
The fresh deployment brings to 88 the number of the bloc’s observation team and will be welcome by opposition parties who have been calling for greater oversight in the key election.
Zimbabwe is holding three elections at once for councillors, Members of Parliament and President.
The opposition parties say they are overstretched and have no capacity to properly monitor the elections to stop rigging attempts, with over 11,000 polling stations countrywide.
In a statement on Tuesday, the EU’s Harare office said the new group of observers were going to be deployed throughout the country this weekend.
“The 44 short-term observers of the European Union Election Observation Mission to Zimbabwe will be deployed throughout the country on Friday at 9AM from the Holiday Inn Hotel in Harare,” the statement said.
The EU observer mission leader, Elmar Brok, told reporters last week that they were going to comment on the conduct of the elections after the polls.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa faces his first election after coming into power following a military coup which ousted former President Robert Mugabe last November. Mnangagwa is desperate to win the elections to legitimise his rule – which has forced his Zanu PF government to open itself to foreign scrutiny with the invitation extended to observer missions from around the world.
Brok said last week: “These elections are a critical test of Zimbabwe’s reform process. Given the context of past elections, great efforts need to be made to ensure public and political confidence in the 2018 polls.
“Necessary efforts include transparency and inclusivity, confidence in the integrity of the voter roll, emphasis on secrecy of the vote and the peaceful conduct of the polls.”
