AG commends Sadc team

Wallace Ruzvidzo

Herald Reporter

The Attorney General’s Office has commended the SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC) for working to ensure there is an enabling environment for the holding of peaceful elections in the region.

SEAC is on a Pre-Election Assessment Mission in Zimbabwe, which ends today.

Speaking after a stakeholder meeting with SEAC yesterday, Attorney General Advocate Prince Machaya said they held cordial deliberations, which culminated in the provision of information on issues raised.

“We have been meeting with SEAC, which is in Zimbabwe to discuss with various stakeholders on the issues regarding the harmonised elections in this country,” he said.

“The Council reports to the organ of the Troika on its findings relating to the state of preparation Zimbabwe is, in relation to the impending harmonised elections.

“They have raised a number of issues which we have responded to.

“We have been very happy to provide the Council with the responses that they have been looking for and we feel that the existence of this Council enables countries within the SADC community to ensure that their preparations for peaceful, credible elections are done in the proper manner.”

Adv Machaya said the SEAC team had been satisfied with the assistance rendered by the AG’s office.

“I hope that when their report is ultimately released, it will speak to the issues that they have raised with us.

“We gave our frank responses to the questions that they raised; I think that they were generally satisfied with the responses that we gave,” he said.

SEAC Chairperson, Justice Ticheme Likhwa Dlamini, said the AG had articulated issues in a comprehensive and informative manner.

“The meeting we just had with the learned Attorney General was very informative and we are happy about the responses that they gave to us.

“We all know that elections are governed by law and he is the principal legal advisor for the Government of Zimbabwe and therefore, he is one of the major stakeholders that we definitely needed to see,” he said.

Justice Dlamini said details of the team’s mission would be released as soon a report has been prepared and adopted by the regional bloc’s chairperson.

“We will conclude our mission tomorrow (today) and then depart to our capitals on Friday. Unfortunately, I cannot go into detail.

“Our findings at this moment are still confidential until we prepare a report and submit it to the appropriate person of the organ, which is the chairperson,” he said.

SEAC will today meet with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, after which it will conclude its mission.