The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC), representing a diverse network of 92 civil society institutions, has penned a letter to the Chairman of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), Angolan President Joao Lourenco.
The letter addresses concerns about the recently concluded 2023 Harmonized elections in Zimbabwe, citing allegations of electoral irregularities and the need for SADC intervention.
“Your Excellency, we celebrate having been afforded another opportunity, after our historic April 1980 independence elections, to vote and determine Zimbabwe’s future. Sadly, as expressed by the various election observer mission reports including the SADC Elections Observer Mission (SEOM), the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and the African Union-COMESA Joint EOM (AU), the elections in Zimbabwe were not free, fair or credible. We humbly request that your office diplomatically engages Harare to assist this country return to majority rule,” said the coalition
They characterized the current situation as an “electoral coup,” pointing to a small group within Zimbabwe seeking to subvert the will of the people and seize power.
Highlighting the historical support provided to the country by the regional bloc, including mediation efforts led by former South African leaders Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe, CiZC called upon SADC to extend the same protection to Zimbabwe as other countries in the region facing political challenges.
“Kindly also recall that Zimbabwe has been assisted by the SADC since 2008, under the leadership of HE Thabo Mbeki and later, HE Kgalema Motlanthe, all former leaders of the Republic of South Africa. The people of Zimbabwe, as citizens of SADC, deserve the same protection of the region as the people of Northern Mozambique or the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The SADC that you lead faces the task of pre-empting, and hence stopping the scourge of military coups, by averting and stopping “electoral coups” in Southern Africa. Zimbabwe must be assisted by the region to cure the bane of contested elections and governmental legitimacy, which is stalling her economic recovery and sustainable growth,” said CiZC
As a forward-looking measure, CiZC proposed the convening of an extraordinary SADC summit to receive reports from all parties involved, including the government and civil society.
They stressed the importance of prioritizing the voices of ordinary Zimbabweans in the quest for a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Zimbabwe and SADC.
