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By Iddi Yire
Accra, Aug 25, GNA – The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), an independent non-profit organisation, has condemned the arrests of local civil society organisation officials monitoring the elections in Zimbabwe.
In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, the CHRI said reports it had obtained indicated that armed police officers attacked and raided the headquarters of the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network (ZESN) in Harare, as well as other data centres on August 23, 2023, and detained at least 40 local election observers.
The armed officers also confiscated computers and other election-related equipment that the poll watchdogs were using for the monitoring.
“The detainees were part of a team monitoring and providing reports on Wednesday’s election on behalf of ZESN and the Election Resource Centre (ERC),” the statement said.
“This incident raises serious concerns about the state of democratic freedoms and the protection of human rights in the country.”
The arrested officials were engaged in legitimate activities aimed at ensuring a fair and transparent electoral process, it said, and that their role was essential for upholding democratic principles, promoting accountability, and safeguarding the rights of citizens to participate in their governance.
It said both organisations had a long-standing reputation for upholding democracy and rule of law and accredited internationally.
“…The night-raid as well as the suspicious grounds of arrest had not only undermined the credibility of the electoral process but had also sent a chilling message to civil society organisations and individuals striving for open and inclusive democratic systems.”
“In a statement by Zimbabwe Republic police spokesman Paul Nyathi, the local observers were arrested for coordinating the release of election results collated by some civic organisations and allegedly interfering with the electoral process.”
The CHRI statement said reports indicate that President Emmerson Mnangagwa invited international observers into the country to observe and monitor the elections and that he had “nothing to hide”.
It noted that meanwhile, clearance from authorities to allow local observers to monitor the elections had delayed and the situation was not different with the foreign election observers.
The statement said the Zimbabwean Constitution and international human rights treaties, particularly the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which Zimbabwe was a state party, provided that the rights to freedom of expression and access to information of Zimbabweans must be respected and upheld.
These actions directly contradict Zimbabwe’s claims of seeking to consolidate its democratic values, it said, and that the country had recently applied to re-join the Commonwealth of Nations and had invited officials to the country to observe the elections.
“These actions are taking place in the full-glare of a 14-member Observer Group with members from across the Commonwealth on invitation from Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to observe the elections.”
“The CHRI strongly condemns these arbitrary arrests and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the officials and a return of the equipment seized.”
“We urge the Zimbabwean authorities to uphold the fundamental principles of democracy, including freedom of expression, association, and assembly, and access to information.”
It said the right to monitor elections was an essential component of a robust democracy and must be protected.
GNA
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