The United States on Tuesday begrudgingly offered the faintest of praise for the conduct of weekend local elections in Zimbabwe, saying there had been ”a degree of improvement” over previous polls.
But the State Department pointedly expressed concern about reports of electoral malfeasance including violence, intimidation and vote buying on the part of President Robert Mugabe’s supporters.
”We’re somewhat encouraged that the elections showed a degree of improvement over the March 2003 parliamentary by-elections and the September 2002 rural council elections in Zimbabwe,” spokesperson Richard Boucher said.
”These local elections were relatively calm, albeit with a very low turnout,” he said of the voting in which the leading opposition party won the majority of seats in urban councils, besting Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party.
”We note with concern, however, that there were scattered reports of intimidation, violence, vote buying and the politicised use of government maize supplies predominantly perpetrated by supporters of the ruling party,” Boucher said.
”We’re also concerned about flaws in the run-up to the elections, with opposition candidates in at least three areas prevented from filing paperwork,” he said.
”So there were significant flaws, as I noted, but somewhat improved over previous elections.”
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won 134 out of the 238 seats that were up for grabs, as well as six of the mayoral elections. Zanu-PF took just one mayoral post, according to results available from the opposition.
The elections took place at a time of unprecedented economic and political crises in Zimbabwe, for which the US has placed the blame squarely on Mugabe.
Inflation is currently officially running at about 400%, and 75% of Zimbabweans live in poverty, according to internationally accepted definitions.
The country has in recent months endured shortages of not only food and fuel, but cash with which to buy those commodities.
Last week, the State Department denounced calls from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for the lifting of US and European Union sanctions against Zimbabwe and urged its members to ”openly distance” themselves from Mugabe’s government.
It said on Thursday that the appeal was misguided and suggested that the SADC did not understand the root causes of dire situation in Zimbabwe.
”The humanitarian and economic crises in Zimbabwe are a direct result of failed Zimbabwean government policies,” said Jo-Anne Prokopowicz, a department spokesperson. — Sapa-AFP