By Wallace Mawire
The African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have been urged to establish an early warning system to deal with potential areas of conflict ahead of Zimbabwe’s harmonized elections.
The call made by the Election Resource Centre (ERC) also calls on the bodies to promote unity and solidarity in Zimbabwe through objective assessments of the 2023 harmonized elections.
The ERC also joined the rest of the African continent in commemorating Africa Day of 2023 and in celebrating 60 years of the establishment of the African Union (formerly Organization of African Unity).
ERC said that Africa Day is a day of hope and a reminder of the potential of the African continent and a reminder of the challenges preventing Africa from reaching its full potential including the devastating impact on African socio-economic development that disputed elections bring.
The elections civil society organization said that to compound this, the failure by Governments and regional bodies such as SADC and the African Union to take tangible steps to address the root causes of disputed elections leaves the continent in a dilemma, creating a perfect storm for sustained conflicts within Africa.
The ERC said that it stands with Africans as they work to deliver on promises of free and fair elections in Africa.
The government of Zimbabwe was also urged to fully align election-related laws and support the ratification of the African Charter with key electoral reforms necessary to achieve free, fair and credible elections.
