Story by Fungai Jachi
A delegation from the SADC Electoral Advisory Council has met the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Professor Amon Murwira and the media fraternity as part of its assessment of whether Zimbabwe is ready to hold general elections.
The delegation is in the country to engage key stakeholders on Zimbabwe’s state of preparedness for general elections which are expected to be held no later than August this year.
The team met the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Professor Amon Murwira and media practitioners in Harare this Wednesday with the head of delegation, Judge Ticheme Dlamini confirming that they had a fruitful engagement.
“We are here to assess the current situation in the country ahead of the elections. We will meet various stakeholders before we come up with a report. We want to assess the political and security situation. We are also looking at legislation to see if it conforms to the SADC principles of guiding elections,” Judge Dlamini said.
The media practitioners also welcomed the engagement and spoke on the key takeaways from the meeting.
“We shared with them how we are preparing for the elections and as ZBC, we are preparing our employees who are going to be covering the elections so that they do so professionally. We discussed on the safety of journalists as they conduct their duties during elections,” noted ZBC Acting Director News and Current Affairs, Mr Albert Chekayi.
The Herald Editor, Mr Hatred Zenenga said, “It was a worthwhile engagement and we found it so helpful. We spoke on our safety and the electoral guidelines we should follow.”
The SADC Electoral Advisory Council will meet various stakeholders including political parties, civil society, faith-based organisations, and the police.
The delegation’s visit is part of Zimbabwe’s preparations for general elections to ensure the polls are held in a free and fair manner.
