{{Members of the African Union high-level observer team began arriving in Zimbabwe yesterday with commissioner for political affairs, Dr Aisha Abdullahi, touching down ahead of the Head of the Short-Term Observer Mission, Mr Olusegun Obasanjo and AU Commission}}<\/p>\n
chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Zuma, who are expected today.
\nMr Obasanjo is former president of Nigeria.<\/p>\n
Speaking on arrival at Harare International Airport, Dr Abdullahi, who has been seized with Zimbabwe since last week, said the team has 70 members, including the 10 who been in the country since last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe African Union has the mandate to observe parliamentary, presidential or general elections like you have here, in all the 54 member states. We are here to do just that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said their coming was a culmination of a deployment that began with the 10-member long-term observer team that came into the country on June 15 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe election is important for us as African Union, our quality of observation has improved and we should do just that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Asked why the AU communiqu\u00e9 of a meeting held last week was silent on claims by some quarters that there was a \u201csecuritisation of the State\u201d, Dr Abdullahi said Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa explained to members\u2019 satisfaction the situation in Zimbabwe when he came to Addis Ababa last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat issue was raised but he addressed it adequately and it is no longer an issue anymore. We were convinced by the explanation he gave us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Asked why there had been a lot of interest across the globe on the Zimbabwean election, Dr Abdullahi said Harare was an integral member of the continental body. <\/p>\n
\u201cZimbabwe is an important member of the African Union. We are interested, we are happy to be here and we are going to observe the election,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Dr Abdullahi said the mission would be in Zimbabwe until after the elections.
\nShe said their advance mission had been giving them updates, hence they had an appreciation of the situation on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have been sending us reports and we shall be sharing with you in our pre-election statement on July 25, if you can be patient with us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Asked if the 70-member team was adequate to cover the whole country, Dr Abdullahi said the figure of 70 was the standard number that they had used in other countries and no problems had been encountered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are efficient and they will be reporting from the field,\u201d she said.
\nZambian legislator Mr Patrick Mucheleka, who is part of the AU observer team said that Zimbabweans should be allowed to choose a leader of their choice. <\/p>\n
He said that Africa must have entrenched democracies and good governance, noting that conflicts were inevitable in the absence of these.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder the African Union, we have the African Charter, democracy, elections and good governance. When you read the charter, it tries to prescribe some kind of standards of basic free and fair elections. That is what we are going to look at,\u201d said Mucheleka.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether the elections will meet these benchmarks or not, our desire in Zimbabwe and any other African country is to ensure democracy and good governance is entrenched. The rest is up to the Zimbabwean people themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, South African President Jacob Zuma\u2019s outspoken International Relations advisor Ms Lindiwe Zulu is coming to Zimbabwe this week to observe the July 31 harmonised elections.<\/p>\n
Ms Zulu is part of the facilitation team whose team leader Mr Charles Nqakula arrived in the country yesterday.<\/p>\n
On his arrival at the Harare International Airport, Mr Nqakula told ZBC that Ms Zulu was heading to Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
He said her utterances on Zimbabwe were unfortunate.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe will be coming of course tomorrow or the following day. She will be coming. It was not our responsibility (to issue statements on Zimbabwe). Our responsibilities was to talk about technical issues,\u201d said Mr Nqakula.<\/p>\n
Mr Nqakula said Zimbabwe had generated a lot of interest because it was an important African country.<\/p>\n
Herald<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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