United States based democracy groups, the International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI), have deployed a team of long term observers across the country to monitor and observe the electoral preparations, Co-Mission Director, Larry Garber has said.
In a statement released yesterday, Zimbabwe International Election Observer Mission (ZIEOM) a joint commission of the two global democracy movements said the decision to deploy observers now is to ensure their mission covers pre-election period which they added is very critical.
“Elections are more than just voting on election day. It’s critical that observers witness the campaign period and electoral preparations across the entire country” said Garber.
The long term observers comprise election experts drawn from Africa, Europe, and North America.
The deployment of long-term observers follows the Mission’s establishment of a core team of analysts based in Harare starting in April and a June 3-8 Pre-Election Assessment Mission where a detailed statement was issued.
The IRI-NDI Mission noted that they will deploy additional short-term observers for election day.
“Throughout the observation process, the Mission will coordinate with other observer delegations, including domestic monitoring groups,” said Garber.
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 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.
The mission’s approach is consistent with regional instruments to which Zimbabwe is a signatory, including the African Union Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
