SADC raises red flag over involvement of VP Kembo Mohadi’s daughter in Zimbabwe Electoral Commission

The appointment of Vice President Kembo Mohadi’s daughter into the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has been cited by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Election Observer Mission (SEOM) as one of the factors that undermined the credibility of the recently held harmonised general elections.

SADC’s final report released on Thursday maintained its earlier position that some aspects of the 23 and 24 August election “fell short of the requirements of the Constitution, the Electoral Act and SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.”

In July last year, President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed Mohadi’s daughter Abigail Millicent Ambrose into ZEC, a decision that caused public outcry with observers claiming the President was installing cronies to manipulate the 2023 plebiscite.

Without mentioning names, SADC said the development, “if found to be true”, undermined the independence of ZEC.

“In the event that the concerns from stakeholders that some ZEC Commissioners are closely related to the senior members of the ruling party are found to be true, there is a risk of violation of Section 11(2) of the Electoral Act and Section 4.1.9 of the SADC Principles and Guidelines.

“SEOM, therefore, recommends that such practice be considered as one of the disqualification criteria in recruitment of ZEC officials,” read part of the report.

Mnangagwa won the plebiscite with 52,6% against opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa’s 44%.

Chamisa has refused to endorse the results claiming he was rigged. He is calling for fresh polls supervised by SADC.

In its conclusion, SADC commended the people of Zimbabwe for conducting “themselves in a peaceful, orderly and exemplary manner during the pre-election phase, voting days, and the immediate post-election period.

“The SEOM commends the political leaders for spreading the message of peace and non-violence throughout the electoral cycle.”

SADC further urged the parties involved in the post election disputes to seek domestic legal remedies.

“The SEOM noted that, as detailed in sections 6 and 7 of this report, some aspects of the Harmonised Elections fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021).

“The SEOM calls for all concerned parties to ensure that any grievances with respect to the election results are channeled through the appropriate legal processes to ensure the exhaustion of domestic legal remedies.

“In terms of Section 11.8.2 of the SADC Principles and Guidelines, when SEOM publishes and officially submits the election reports, Member States which held elections, may: (a) consider the recommendations advanced by the SEOM for improving the conduct of elections; and (b) submit to the Chair of the Organ, a response to the SEOM report.”