 The organisation is particularly concerned with a repeat of the cherry-picking of observers as was the case in the past elections and the denial of the opportunity to observe the elections by groups which have been perceived to be unfriendly’ by the government due to their adverse reports on previous polls.
 The objective of observing a country’s elections, as described in the SADC Guidelines and Principles governing democratic elections particularly section 7.8, is to ensure transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process. The invitation of friendly and objective members of the international community is, on its own, a subjective process which compromises the objectivity that the government purports to be looking for in observer missions’ reports. Such a selective and partisan invitation criterion does not, in any way, foster the transparency and integrity that observation should give to the electoral process. It certainly can compromise legitimacy of the electoral process and its outcome.
 It is ZESN’s conviction that, judging from past experiences, those that the government considers friendly and objective are observer missions that have often glossed over fraudulent electoral practices to produce reports that are generally favourable to the government and the process. These reports are often times not objective.
 ZESN, therefore, condemns such subjective invitation criteria. In circumstances where there is suspicion of polarised perceptions, it is in the best interests of the pursuit of objectivity, fairness and balance, to draw assessments from both friendly and the purportedly unfriendly organisations.
Most of these observer groups have observed elections in various countries such as South Africa, Botswana, Mauritius and Namibia and their coming to Zimbabwe was not unique. However, their denial of invitation raised unnecessary suspicion against the government of Zimbabwe which could have been avoided had they been invited. The fact that they were denied invitations, to some, meant there were things the government was hiding and such suspicion impact on the credibility of an election.
 ZESN reiterates the importance of employing an impartial invitation criterion to election observers. We would also want to emphasise the advantages that a non-selective and impartial invitation criterion would have on our elections. It is our steadfast conviction that allowing observers to take part in our elections without controversy or impartiality has the potential to enhance the integrity of election processes, by deterring and exposing irregularities and fraud and by providing recommendations for improving electoral processes. It would also promote public confidence, promote electoral participation and mitigate the potential for election-related conflict. As such, countries holding elections should ensure that election observation mandates are availed to all interested groups to make certain that the process is not shrouded in secrecy or any other murky dealings that might compromise the credibility of the election process.