“U.S. notes systemic bias against Zim opposition in pre-poll period”

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The United States says it has noted what it calls systemic bias against the political opposition during the pre-election period in Zimbabwe.

It has called on the country’s electoral commission to make disaggregated polling station results available to increase confidence in the vote counting process.

The opposition Citizens Coalition for Change party has labelled the poll as fraudulent after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) declared President Emmerson Mnangagwa the winner.

State Dept Spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said the U.S. government also strongly condemned the intimidation and disruption of lawful election observation in accordance with the Electoral Act, arguing that those arrests prevented efforts to independently verify the results announced  by ZEC.

The U.S. also indicated that threats directed against the Southern African Development Commission Observer Mission were dangerous and called on the Zimbabwean government to cease these inflammatory and unacceptable attacks.

A scathing report by SADC accused the ZEC of failing to adhere to the Constitution, Electoral Act and even the SADC region electoral guidelines.

International observers such as the Commonwealth Election Observer Mission have also raised concerns about voter intimidation and logistical challenges.

Miller warned that those actions belie Mnangagwa’s repeated pledges to respect the rule of law, transparency and accountability; and said they would share concerns with regional leaders.

UN monitoring developments 

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is closely following developments in Zimbabwe’s election.

He called on political actors to peacefully settle any disputes through established legal and institutional channels.

In a statement released by his spokesperson, the UN Chief expressed concern about a number of issues.

More details in the report below: