The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has cautioned civil society representatives observing Zimbabwe’s general election not to compromise their impartiality by making premature judgements on the fairness of the poll.
”One of the key tasks of electoral observers is to foster a climate in which all Zimbabweans feel comfortable exercising their rights to vote,” SACC general-secretary Molefe Tsele said on Friday.
”Making pronouncements on the legitimacy of the election before it even gets underway may undermine confidence in the process, discourage participation and skew the outcome.
”We must not forget that these are Zimbabwean elections, not South African or Southern African Development Community (SADC) elections,” Tsele warned.
”As South Africans, we should take a back seat and not be attention seekers or newsmakers. Our role is to assist the people of Zimbabwe to use this historical opportunity to their advantage.”
Tsele’s remarks come in the wake of conflicting statements by prominent South Africans concerning the legitimacy of next week’s poll.
Anglican Bishop Rubin Phillip, leader of Solidarity Peace Trust’s Ecumenical Fact Finding Team, reportedly said Zimbabwe’s elections could not be free and fair.
Meanwhile, South African Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana was quoted as saying that he saw no reason why the election should not be free and fair — though he subsequently said Zimbabwe’s state media had misquoted him.
The SACC has called on its members to take part in observer missions to Zimbabwe in order to promote a peaceful and inclusive election.
It is leading a team of election observers recruited by a consortium of six South African civil society organisations.
Tsele said election observers had a profound responsibility to promote peace, trust and public participation by adopting a principled stance of impartiality and non-interference in the internal processes of political parties.
”As invited guests, they must conduct themselves within the laws of the host country and not become advocates for their own causes,” he said.
The SACC’s National Executive Committee has also encouraged churches to remember the people of Zimbabwe during the Lenten season and to offer special prayers for a peaceful election and for an end to Zimbabwe’s suffering.
”We must continue to pray for the people of Zimbabwe,” Tsele said.
”Even if the elections do not achieve the same level of efficiency and fairness that we have seen in recent South African elections, we must accompany Zimbabweans in their journey, encourage them in their efforts to take their history into their own hands peacefully, and help them to make the forthcoming elections a way to advance toward that goal.
”Our acts of solidarity should be aimed at supporting justice and peace.” – Sapa