Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF party has defended the fairness of its victory in last week’s elections. The latest challenge to the polls comes from Botswana, which says it will urge regional body Southern African Development Community (SADC) to audit the vote in its neighbouring state.
Botswana Foreign Affairs Minister, Phandu Skelemani, addressing journalists in Gaborone on Monday, said they are concerned that the vote failed to measure up to SADC guidelines.
Western countries have also questioned the polls, while Zimbabwe’s opposition MDC has slammed the polls as fraudulent and plans to challenge them in court.
Zanu-PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo dismisses all the complaints saying that it is nonsense to talk of rigging because all sorts of structures were set up to ensure that voting was tight and water-proof.
Gumbo says: “The reality on the ground was that everything was done transparently, people voted in peace and tranquillity, the elections were free and fair, and quite credible as far as we are concerned.”