South Africa: Zimbabweans in South Africa fear elections are not free and fair

A handful of Zimbabweans living in South Africa demonstrated outside the Zimbabwean Consulate in Cape Town on Thursday afternoon. They demanded that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) respect the principles and guidelines of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) governing democratic elections. They want Zimbabwe's elections to be impartial, free, fair and peaceful.

Zimbabwe will hold a general election on July 30th.

The signs read: "ZEC you answer people not ZANU PF", "Respect the election guidelines of SADC and save Zimbabwe".

Tendai Bhiza of PASSOP (People Against Poverty and Suffering), who helped the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum (ZSF) organize the picket, handed a memorandum to Vice Consul Katsande, who promised to send it to the Presidency. office in Harare.

Owen Ziwa complains about the government's reluctance to allow Zimbabweans in the diaspora to vote. "Staying in South Africa does not take away my right to vote," he said.

Hillary Mugari said he wanted to travel to Zimbabwe for the elections, but that he had previously helped organize student protests at Midlands State University. Zimbabwe was forced to flee her country

"I miss my family, but the situation does not allow me to go back there, I should be at home using my skills to build Zimbabwe but I'm stuck here … the way I live here, too much trouble and little freedom, but I do not have the choice I hope that people will have a chance to vote for the party of their choice and that ZANU PF will not fool the election "In a statement, the ZSF said:" The militarization of the ZEC undermines the credibility of the election, particularly because of the role the army has played in the political body of Zimbabwe since independence by the military, which includes the people directly involved in the approval of the elected officials of 2008 "The SADC treaty, in Article 5, commits the Member States to "promote common political values, systems and other shared values ​​that are have transmitted "through democratic, legitimate and effective institutions". The ZSF is concerned that Zimbabwe runs the risk of violating this collective agreement, the foundation of regional cooperation, "said ZSF