THE HEAD of the South African contingent of the regional observer team for the Zimbabwean elections, Kingsley Mamabolo has vowed to sit down with the rest of the leadership to discuss the conduct of three Democratic Alliance members who have issued a damning report on the election process in Zimbabwe.
Mamabolo, who has privately met President Robert Mugabe yesterday confided in him that South African president, Thabo Mbeki had told him that the British government regretted its stance on the Zimbabwean government.
He said that the behavior by the three DA members could be a violation of the code of conduct adopted by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Electoral Observer Mission (SEOM).
SEOM comes into the country through invitation of the government of Zimbabwe as stated in the SADC guidelines.
The SEOM code of conduct compels the mission to comply with national laws and maintain strict impartiality in the conduct of their duties. "We work as a collective, and will look at allegations of irregularities together. We need to verify them before we come to an assessment. If the DA wanted to come with their own report, they should have got accreditation outside SEOM," said Mamabolo. He accused the DA members of using the SEOM as a cover to get their message out.
Mamabolo said there was a code of conduct that expressly forbade members to talk to the media, whether on their own or through their parties at home. "I'm very worried about their behaviour,” said Mamabolo, adding that the DA members had also reported that ANC members of the Sadc delegation had expressed their dissatisfaction with their tough questioning of Zimbabwean officials. DA foreign affairs spokesman, Tony Leon yesterday said the party had received its observers' first report and had also been briefed by various non-governmental organisations. "Our electoral observers, Dianne Kohler-Barnard MP and James Masango MP, have pointed to the fact that the odds are heavily stacked against the March 29 poll being genuinely democratic," said Leon in South Africa yesterday. However, Mamabolo indicated at a briefing before the South Africans' departure that they would not "make noise" over irregularities. DA officials said the two parties had been at loggerheads even before the start of the mission, after Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad declared that everything seemed set for a free and fair election.
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READER OPINIONS
Omugabe • dziva@sanandresano.com Subject: Africa for Africans Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:51:56 • The so-called opposition in South Africa is an anti-African entity and part of the destructive 'divide and rule' strategy of the evil Europeans.
South African opposition reason to be is to help prevent Africans from recovering their ancestral Lands, Wealth and Resources from the invading thieves and murderers of Europe.
Therefore it was a big mistake for Zim Patriots to allow any member of the South African opposition in Zimbabwe; because their effort encourage destabilization of Zimbabwe on behalf to the evil Europeans,.
Tanonoka Joseph Whande • tanowhande@classicmail.co.za Subject: DA Report Sat, 29 Mar 2008 05:28:41 • People like Kingsley Mamabolo are a disgrace to South Africa, to the ANC and to Africa. These are the people who are enjoying their lives over decomposing bodies of fellow Africans being manhandled by tyrants like Robert Mugabe. What is Mamabolo's intention when he tries to hide the truth and when he chides someone who has told the truth? To hell with SADC; it is just an organ created to protect murderes like Mugabe and any reference to conduct adopted by SADC does not mean anything to me. Over the years, SADC has been implicated in the decaying behavior of regional leaders. It is promoting tyranny and protecting human rights violators. I wish their donors, who are most likely European, British and American would stop funding them and let SADC get its funding from Mugabe. SADC is more of Mugabe's Public Relations organ than a regional body that promots democracy and good governance. SADC is a disgrace and so is Mamabolo. I shall spare Mbeki today although he is the architect of our misery in Zimbabwe.Ta! Ta! Ta! Ta!
Tamara Stevens • tamaras@ezweb.ne.jp Subject: Credibility Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:41:13 • If its credibility that the SADC community and the AU as a whole seeks, they do themselves no favours by reducing everything to a black v white issue. It is not the British or the Americans who are the enemies of the people, it is the cabalistic leadership of these bodies who serve the interests of the overfed selfserving self-indulging underperforming tin pot dictators.
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