HARARE – The Commonwealth Observer Group says it is unable to endorse all aspects of Zimbabwe’s elections held on July 30 as credible in its final report released this week.

Zimbabwe had made “important gains”, the observers noted, with a “markedly improved pre-election environment where all parties were generally able to campaign freely.”

They added: “The polls on July 30 were conducted in a peaceful manner, and were well managed and transparent.”

But that’s where the good news ends.

The Commonwealth Observer Group, whose findings will be key in deciding Zimbabwe’s push to be re-admitted into the Commonwealth, said state media bias and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s reluctance to be transparent meant that the political playing field was not level.

The “acute bias of the state media in favour of the governing party; the ZEC’s limitations in the implementation of its mandate as identified in this report; persistent allegations of intimidation reported to the Group and the unfair use of incumbency privileges unlevelled the playing field in favour of the governing party,” the observers said.

“The post-election violence which resulted in fatalities and the behaviour of security forces marred this phase of the elections. For these reasons, the Commonwealth Observer Group is unable to endorse all aspects of the process as credible, inclusive and peaceful.”

The ZEC had run a “well-organised process on Election Day itself, including the professional conduct of polling officials, is a testament to the ZEC’s operational preparedness and commendable organisational skills across all ten provinces.”

But the observers noted that the electoral body was “legalistic” in addressing concerns raised by opposition parties.

To foster confidence in the ZEC by citizens, “its independence and authority may be further bolstered.”

“The Group notes, for instance, that the guarantee of the ZEC’s independence is rendered uncertain in the light of its dependency, in practice, on the Minister of Justice and financial allocations from the executive.

“We believe the legal framework provides the ZEC with the flexibility required to build trust in the electoral process. For subsequent elections, we hope the ZEC will take full advantage of this flexibility within the confines of the law. We further recommend a review of the legal framework to tighten the ZEC’s financial and operational independence.”

The Commonwealth Observer mission to Zimbabwe was led by former Ghanaian President John Mahama.