HUMAN rights activists have raised alarm over the ongoing crackdown on opposition politicians in the lead up to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) summit to be held in the country in August.
They also cast doubt that the bloc will deliberate on the country’s disputed polls, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa set to assume the chairmanship at the summit.
Sadc’s electoral observer mission discredited Zimbabwe’s August 23 and 24 elections, saying they fell short of regional electoral guidelines and principles.
Launching findings of its survey on citizen participation in the 2023 elections recently, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) said there was no evidence that the regional body had the appetite to engage on the 2023 polls.
“The report is also important for two reasons, among others. Coming ahead of the forthcoming Sadc Summit, it is evident that, while Sadc as a whole has accepted the findings of the Sadc electoral observation mission, there is no evidence that Sadc has or will act on the findings,” ZimRights said in is its report titled Showing up or Giving Up.
“It is not only the flawed elections that should be addressed by Sadc, but also the continuing violence being perpetrated by the State, with the recent violence by the Zimbabwe Republic Police in shutting down a private meeting.”
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Speaking at the launch, research and Advocacy Unit senior researcher Tony Reeler raised concern over why Sadc had remained mum on the Zimbabwean question despite releasing a damning report on the 2023 elections.
“Outsourcing (external intervention) means holding people to account for the principles they operate under. Sadc is a community driven by treaties, protocols and conventions. Therefore, it has an obligation to account and implement those,” Reeler said.
Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of rigging the election to benefit Mnangagwa and wants Sadc to intervene.