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HARARE – The Commonwealth has refused to support the July 30 elections, arguing that they are not in line with international standards.
The final report was published by the Commonwealth Observers Group in Zimbabwe, led by former Ghana President George Dramani Maham.
In this report, Mahama expressed concerns about two key issues for which he unnecessarily indicated the conditions of competition for Zanu PF.
"The first was a great deal of national print and mass media in favor of the ruling party. Secondly, government powers were used in such a way that the opposition parties were unnecessarily disadvantaged," Mahama said.
Mahama added that persistent allegations of intimidation that were reported to the group also canceled the rules of the game.
"The election-induced violence that caused deaths and the behavior of security forces was hampered at this stage of the election," said Mahama.
On August 1, six people who showed the outcome of the election results were shot dead after the soldiers were opened.
Maham described post-election violence as regrettable and condemned the use of excessive force by the army against citizens exercising their protest rights, as set out in the Constitution.
The group said that the use of excessive force against protesting citizens was the neglect of the election, which was carried out mainly in a peaceful and much improved environment.
Mahama said: "For these reasons, we can not validate all aspects of the process as credible, inclusive, and peaceful."
However, the Mahama-led observation team noted that significant gains were made during the election.
It welcomed the improved pre-election environment in which all parties were generally free to act.
"The polls were conducted in a peaceful manner on July 30, and they were well-managed and transparent.
"For the first time, four of the 23 presidential candidates were women," he said.
He pointed out that more needs to be done to improve women's political representation in Zimbabwe.
The group also welcomed the Zimbabwean people for their long-standing confidence in democracy, as reflected in the encouraging voter turnout.
"The group was aware that the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth will consider this report in the process of participating in the evaluation," said Mahama, pointing out that he hoped the report would be valuable in continuing to assess the country's interest in joining the organization again.
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