Brigitte Weidlich
14 April 2008
Windhoek — Leaders of southern Africa have urged Zimbabwe's electoral commission to release presidential election results immediately after the expected court ruling in the Harare high court this morning, President Hifikepunye Pohamba said yesterday after his return from a special regional meeting in Zambia.
"The heads of state, after having received information about the counting process of the votes, felt the due process of law was followed and agreed we should wait until the Zimbabwe high court makes the pronouncement," President Pohamba told reporters at Eros airport on arrival.
"Let's now ask the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) that immediately after the pronouncement of the high court in Harare they should announce the results in accordance with the Zimbabwean electoral law.
This is what we have recommended and we are satisfied with the information that has been provided," Pohamba added.
He further told reporters that some election officials in Zimbabwe were arrested for allegedly tampering with the votes.
"At the polling stations everything went in a transparent manner.
The results were counted at the polling stations and hanged from the walls for everybody to see.
Then from there, they were taken to other (regional) stations, procedurally.
There it was found that there were attempts to reduce the number of the votes (for the opposition).
And then it was felt that the electoral commission should look into that situation," Pohamba said.
The ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC complained and sought verification of the votes, Pohamba continued.
The presidential result could not be announced, according to Pohamba, "because firstly the verification of the presidential results continued and it could not be done over a short time, because there are over 9 000 polling stations".
Although he earlier told reporters that election officials were arrested on suspicion of tampering with votes, he said there had been the impression that the government of Zimbabwe was tampering with the result.
"It is not true.
The electoral commission of Zimbabwe is an independent body and nobody, the government, the ruling party, the opposition, had the right in accordance to the Zimbabwean law to interfere with that.
It has not been interfered with, by either the government, nor the ruling party, nor the opposition.
So we have left Lusaka very happy, convinced that the due course of law has been followed," Pohamba said.
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