Leading American international democracy and development organisations, the International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) have heeded President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s calls for international observers ahead of this year’s harmonized elections by setting up a local office under a joint operation dubbed the Zimbabwe International Election Observation Mission (ZIEOM).
In a statement released today, ZIEOM said the opening of an office in Harare is part of a comprehensive election observation exercise which kick-started with observing voters roll inspection process currently underway until the 29th of May.
“The IRI-NDI ZIEOM has opened an office in the Milton Park section of Harare and has begun implementing the comprehensive election observation exercise. The ZIEOM has received accreditation to observe the Voter Roll Inspection Process (May 19-29, 2018),” noted the ZIEOM statement.
The group also hinted that a high-level mission is on its way to Zimbabwe to assess the country’s readiness for credible elections and offer suggestions for enhancing public confidence in the process.
“The ZIEOM plans to deploy observers throughout the country during the campaign period and on Election Day. The ZIEOM will coordinate with the other observer delegations, including domestic monitoring groups.
“IRI and NDI have organized more than 200 international election observer missions around the globe, earning a reputation for impartiality and professionalism. In Zimbabwe, the IRI-NDI mission will conduct its activities in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and Code of Conduct adopted by the United Nations in 2005, and will base its findings on international standards for elections,” reads the other part of the statement.
