OPPOSITION MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has called for the
international community to come to Zimbabwe’s rescue “and correct the election
mischief” in the wake of a report by the European Union (EU) that claimed the
July polls results could not be verified and that the vote did not meet
international standards.
Chamisa told NewsDay yesterday that President Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s government has squandered $5 billion since coming to power in
November last year which he argued must be investigated by either a commission
or Parliament.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) announced Mnangagwa
winner of the presidential election by 50,67% of the vote while Chamisa came
second with 44,3%. The opposition leader challenged the result at the
Constitutional Court but lost.
The EU in its final report after observing the election
said: “The final results announced by the electoral commission contained
numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and
verifiability.”
“What is clear from the EU report is that it vindicates the
people of Zimbabwe that the July election result announced by Zec did not have
a source or base from which it was plucked.
“That is what is meant by lacking traceability or lacking
verifiability,” Chamisa said.
Asked if he thought it was feasible for Sadc and the
African Union to change their position on Zimbabwe on the basis of an EU
decision, Chamisa pointed out that the regional and continental bodies had not
released their final reports on the polls.
“We have not seen the final Sadc report, but we are sure
they noted some of the anomalies in Zimbabwe’s elections. We are now calling on
the international community especially Sadc and the AU to remedy the Zec error
and mischief associated with the election.
“Sadc should underwrite Zimbabwe’s return to legitimacy. We
need a broad-based national consensus to avert the collapse and economic
meltdown. The situation is deteriorating, the humanitarian and economic crises
are a manifestation of the political reality. The political situation in
Zimbabwe is a big lie and the economy is a perfect indicator of the true
situation,” Chamisa said.
In its final report on the elections, the EU Observer
Mission to Zimbabwe said Zec lacked the independence to run a credible
election.
Data released by Treasury last week showed government spent
$3.86 billion in the first half of the year, $2.5 billion between April and
June alone and recorded a budget deficit of $1.35 billion against a target of
$266 million.
“We are wondering how this government spent $5 billion
between November last year and now. This must be a subject of a Parliamentary
inquiry or a commission set up to look into this. We call this the Treasury
Bill scandal and there is no reason Zimbabweans, ordinary people must be forced
to shoulder this through a cruelty tax,” he said.
Government last week increased the tax on electronic
transactions to two percent per dollar from a flat 5 cent fee in what is seen
as a desperate effort to raise cash for government, triggering price increases
across the board. Newsday
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