The Zimbabwean government has dismissed as "biased" and "misleading" a report by the European Union (EU) on the country's August 23, 2023 general election.
On Friday, the EU released its final report on Zimbabwe's 2023 elections.
The Chief Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to the Republic of Zimbabwe, Fabio Massimo Castaldo, said in the report: "While election day was largely calm, it was assessed as disorderly.
"The process curtailed fundamental rights, overall, and lacked a level playing field, which was compounded by intimidation. During the post-electoral period, the EU EOM observed a climate of retribution."
Electoral reform
The EU made 21 recommendations to Zimbabwe, but key among them was the need for "a comprehensive and meaningful electoral reform to bring legislation in line with regional and international standards espoused by Zimbabwe."
Another key recommendation, is that Zimbabwe "takes measures to ensure that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and its staff are able to operate without political influence at all levels."
"To safeguard the independence of the judiciary, the EU EOM recommends reviewing the appointment procedures of judges to guarantee the separation of powers," the EU said in its final report.
"Further, the EU EOM recommends to establish and implement effective mechanisms to prevent undue restrictions on observation activities, and to prevent pressure and intimidation of both citizen and international observers."
'Closed episode'
Responding to the EU report, Zimbabwe's Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Jenfan Muswere said the EU misrepresented the country's electoral reality.
"The report focuses on a closed episode of our national political cycle. Zimbabwe is now at the height of implementing President Emmerson Mnangagwa's development agenda," Muswere said.
"At the same time, the government is aware of the colonial traditional reactionary aspersions of those perennially inclined to subvert the will of our people by misrepresenting facts about Zimbabwe's political environment before, during and after the elections," the minister added.
Muswere alleged that during the August 2023 elections, the EU observation mission held "irregular nocturnal meetings with opposition political players outside conventional election observation parameters."
Polls marred by rigging claims
"We also have substantial evidence of the EU EOM's clandestine operations with other Election Observer Missions (E0Ms) for the purposes of manipulating their reports to discredit the election outcome," he said.
Zimbabwe's elections, which granted President Mnangagwa a second term in office, was marred by allegations of rigging, with the opposition alleging intimidation and an uneven electoral playing field.
On August 26, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced that 81-year-old Mnangagwa of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party got 2.35 million (52.6%) to secure a first-round victory.
His closest challenger, 45-year-old Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party, came second with 1.97 million votes (44%).
A total of 4.47 million voters cast their ballots out of the 6.62 million registered voters in Zimbabwe, translating to a turn-out of 68.9%, the electoral commission said.
