The Southern African Development Committee meets in Maputo, Mozambique to review the electoral process in Zimbabwe, where a general election would be held before July 31 according to a recent Constitutional Court ruling.
“SADC has played a critical role in easing the tension in Zimbabwe since the political violence of 2008. Now it has the duty to ensure that the coming elections are held in an environment free from human rights violations, including violence,” Noel Kututwa Amnesty International's Africa Deputy Programme Director, said in Johannesburg on Thursday.
“Specifically, SADC should immediately deploy human rights monitors to Zimbabwe to oversee the period before, during and after the elections," he added..
“SADC should ensure that Zimbabweans can participate in an election that is free from violence, harassment and intimidation, that the security sector remains impartial, and that the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly are upheld," said Kututwa.
In the run-up to the second round of the 2008 presidential election – between current President Robert Mugabe of Zanu (PF) and the Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, who is now serving as the country’s Prime Minister in a coalition government – Zimbabwe was beset with a wave of state-sponsored violence that left at least 200 people dead.
Thousands more were tortured at makeshift detention camps set up across the country. In recent months, the offices of several civil society organisations have been raided by police, who seized computers, phones and documents.
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