OPPOSITION politician, Nelson Chamisa yesterday told President Emmerson Mnangagwa to emulate the late Namibia President Hage Geingob in upholding the principles of free and fair elections.
Chamisa said this after visiting the Namibian embassy in Harare to pay his condolences following the death of Geingob on February 4.
Chamisa said Geingob, as the chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, was interested in resolving the August 2023 disputed election results.
The former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader refused to accept election defeat to President Emmerson Mnangagwa saying the polls were rigged.
“I am representing the people of Zimbabwe who believe in the alternative, who supported us and who continue to support us,” Chamisa said.
“President Geingob was familiar to me in my personal capacity as a young African leader, but more importantly in the context of Sadc.
“In the context of our disputed elections, we engaged him. We sent a team to Namibia. We are happy that he received our team, and we engaged him to find a common solution."
He described Geingob as a democrat and urged African presidents to follow in his footsteps.
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“It’s not about politics. It's about honouring a giant. He was a democrat. He was a believer in justice and freedom, and he did not arrest opponents,” Chamisa said.
“He did not incarcerate those who differed with him. He held elections without undermining their integrity.
“He observed the guidelines on elections within Sadc, so for that reason, we honour him, and we pay our tribute to the great giant. It’s a big lesson to those in the region who are still at loggerheads with observing guidelines on democratic, free and fair elections.”
Election observer missions flagged the August 2023 elections as not meeting local, regional and international standards on holding free and fair polls.
Chamisa’s party pushed for a rerun of the polls without success. The former CCC leader has not announced his next move after quitting the opposition party he unveiled in January 2022.
