The rest of Africa can learn much from South Africa’s election process, the visiting Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum said on Thursday.
”We have observed nine elections throughout the SADC since 1999 and realised how much other countries can learn from South Africa,” said the leader of the observer mission, Veda Baloomoody.
The forum, which in 2000 broke with its parent body by declaring the Zimbabwe elections ”not free and fair”, has 57 observers placed throughout the country.
Four teams, each consisting of two MPs and a staff member, will be stationed in KwaZulu-Natal, two in Gauteng and two in the Western Cape. The remaining provinces will play host to one team each.
The SADC Parliamentary Forum, established in 1996, is an autonomous institution comprising 1 800 parliamentarians from 12 Parliaments.
In its report concerning the Zimbabwe elections it concluded that ”the climate of insecurity obtaining in Zimbabwe since the 2000 parliamentary elections was such that the electoral process could not be said to adequately comply with the norms and standards for elections in the SADC region”.
It recommended and ”urged” the heads of state and governments of SADC countries urgently to engage the leadership of Zimbabwe to facilitate dialogue and reconciliation.
”Our ultimate wish is to create a book of norms and standards that could be imprinted on any general election throughout the SADC but taking into consideration each country’s individual constitutional aspects, institutions and parameters,” Baloomoody said.
During their visit, he hoped South Africa would also learn from the forum’s experiences in other countries and that sharing of information would take place.
The forum visited South Africa in February for the first time and has returned and will remain for the duration of the elections.
Baloomoody criticised Western monitoring bodies that have informed the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) that they would not be observing the South Africa’s 2004 elections as they felt the country could manage on its own.
”It’s not right to observe elections if they only expect problems. You can also learn from elections that are run well,” he said, adding that ”each and every election has its own importance”.
General secretary Rasuku Mutukwa said a report would be compiled after the elections and distributed to all SADC members.
”We are monitoring the language of the elections, the press coverage and the interactions of the various parties,” Mutukwa said. — Sapa
Special Report: Elections 2004