Southern African leaders have approved a new regional charter on free and fair elections that specifies how they should be conducted to guarantee democracy, reports the World Bank press review Wednesday.
On the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, 13 heads of state and government from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region agreed to the charter.
One aim of this process was to improve ties between the SADC group and the European Union and United States, soured by bad relations with President Robert Mugabes regime in Zimbabwe, which northern countries have slapped with sanctions because of perceived repression and allegedly unfair polls.
SADC leaders said in a communiqué that electoral reforms proposed by Zimbabwes government were consistent with the new SADC guidelines.
Leaders also acknowledged the need for reform in Swaziland, where King Mswati IIIs palace has often delayed promulgation of a constitution to replace the one his father tore up in 1973. The communiqué said Swaziland had told the meeting it was implementing political reforms and a constitution was due to be completed by the end of November and adopted by parliament.
SADC chairman, Mauritius Prime Minister Paul Berenger, said there had been unanimous acceptance of the new guidelines. But a SADC official said there were disagreements over the role of Western and other international observers, with most SADC leaders overruling a minority who felt such observer teams were crucial to establishing an elections credibility.
The final guidelines agreed to establish a SADC Electoral Observation Mission to monitor elections in member states.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that despite a public show of support for Mugabe at the opening of the SADC summit, the government leaders voted for election regulations and a commitment to a free press with which the Zimbabwean leader will find it difficult to comply.
It was widely seen as a warning to Mugabe that he should conduct Zimbabwes forthcoming parliamentary elections, due in March, without the violence and alleged rigging that have marred the past two. Mugabe tried to mollify his neighbors by proposing limited reforms to Zimbabwes electoral system in a bill presented to his parliament a few weeks ago.
But the incoming SADC chairman, the Mauritian prime minister Paul Berenger, made it clear that the organization would not be satisfied with merely cosmetic changes in Zimbabwe.
– Really free and fair elections mean not only an independent electoral commission, but also include freedom of assembly and absence of physical harassment by the police or any other entity, freedom of the press and access to national radio and television, and external and credible observation of the whole electoral process, Berenger told the assembly, which included Mugabe.
In other news on the SADC meeting, The Panafrican News Agency notes Paul Berenger suggested Tuesday that member countries allocate at least 10 percent of their budgets to agriculture with a view to beefing up food security across the sub-region.
Berenger said agriculture was the driving force of the economy of member states, hence the sector could yield positive results if well harnessed. The challenge, he said, was to supply inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and equipment, and to ease market access for peasant farmers, noting that the construction, rehabilitation and improvement of roads could open up rural and remote regions and increase agricultural production.
He challenged member states to face up to natural disasters such as droughts, floods and cyclones common in the region. Considering the magnitude and impact of HIV/AIDS in the region, Berenger said containing the pandemic should also be a priority for member states.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
