“The successful referendum is a good omen for the forthcoming elections. But of course it was not on a contested issue as all major parties supported the new draft constitution. Clearly, elections will be quite a different story altogether. They will be very important as they will represent a further step, probably the most difficult and important step in the political transformation process set in motion by the GPA,” said Lavizzari.
It was of paramount importance for the GNU partners to ensure favourable conditions for credible polls to be put in place, he said.
“Ultimately, Switzerland will of course be ready to cooperate and work together with whatever government emerges from peaceful and credible elections. We believe it is reassuring that the three Principals in the GPA are quite visibly committed to a peaceful and non-violent electoral process,” said Lavizzari.
He said Switzerland was currently supporting the election process through a $1.9 million grant to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission being channelled via the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa and the Electoral Institute of Sustainable Democracy in Africa.
This support programme is aimed at ensuring professional conduct of credible elections. He added that Switzerland was supporting two other programmes aimed at creating a conducive environment for peaceful and credible elections.
“The first is a support to the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa that aims, through public debate and joint election campaigns at influencing the behaviour of political leaders and other important stakeholders to make them contribute to a peaceful electoral process.
“The other project is a support to the Ecumenical Peace Observation Initiative in Zimbabwe which brings together three umbrella Church organisations – the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the Zimbabwe Council of Churches for joint action to promote peace during the election process,” said Lavizzari.
He highlighted that Switzerland was committed to assisting the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe but said this would depend on political developments. “The same applies for the bilateral trade between the two countries, which is currently quite small and limited to agricultural and pharmaceutical products,” said Lavizzari.
Through the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), Switzerland is providing more than $18 million annually in form of humanitarian and development assistance in critical areas such as food security, HIV/AIDS, water supply and sanitation as well as protection and gender.
“We are very keen to see trade between the two countries expanding in the future and my country is ready to support the economic development of Zimbabwe,” added Lavizzari.
He said that changes ushered by the coming in of the new constitution should be translated into action in order to create a new political dispensation in Zimbabwe.
“Many fundamental reforms have been enshrined in the new constitution such as the idea of devolution and decentralisation of power and responsibilities. Changes now need to be translated into legislation and eventually new behaviours and actions so as to produce the desired impact on the ground,” he said.
Lavizzari applauded the ongoing re-engagement talks between Zimbabwe and Europe and expressed optimism that this would lead to a reduction in the “confrontational posture that has often characterized relations in the past”.
Post published in: News