ED meets Sadc, AU observers

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday met SADC and African Union election observer teams who expressed satisfaction with the peace and tranquillity prevailing ahead of the harmonised election set for Monday.

The heads of the two observer missions separately met the President at his Munhumutapa Offices.

They described the meetings as fruitful before urging Zimbabweans to maintain peace until the end of the election period.

The head of the Sadc Elections Observer Mission and Angolan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Tete Antonio, said Zimbabwe was peaceful.

“We came to pay respect to the President because Zimbabwe is a member of SADC, which we represent here. We are here to support the people of Zimbabwe.

“We encourage the people of Zimbabwe to continue with this peaceful environment we are seeing now. We wish Zimbabweans a peaceful election,” he said.

Former Ethiopian prime minister, who is also head of the African Union Elections Observer Mission, Mr Hailemariam Desalegn, said his team was in Zimbabwe to see a free, fair and credible poll.

He said Zanu-PF, being the ruling party and the incumbent Government, had a responsibility to ensure a fair and peaceful election.

“We thank the President for the invitation that was extended to us to be part of the observers in this election. We are here to see that the election goes in a transparent, fair and credible manner,” said Mr Desalegn.