Zimbabwe Elections Not Credible – Kerry

US-CANADA-DIPLOMACY-KERRY

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Zimbabwe’s elections were “deeply flawed” and results showing Robert Mugabe winning a seventh term are not credible.

Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo who led the African Union, AU’s monitoring team had said the election was “fairly fair”.

“In light of substantial electoral irregularities reported by domestic and regional observers, the United States does not believe that the results announced today represent a credible expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people,” Kerry said on Saturday.

“Though the United States was restricted from monitoring these elections, the balance of evidence indicates that today’s announcement was the culmination of a deeply flawed process,” he said.

Kerry pointed to irregularities in voter rolls, unequal access to state media by the candidates, uneven security protection of the election and a failure by the government to implement political reforms.

He called on the Southern African Development Community and the African Union to address their concerns with the election.

If the election results stand, Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe would have been given a 7th mandate that will see him extend his 33-year rule.