President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday claimed that Zimbabwe’s Harmonised Elections held on 23 August 2023 were free and fair.
Addressing the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) in New York, United States, Mnangagwa also claimed that his government upholds the rule of law. He said:
Zimbabwe continues to entrench democracy, constitutionalism, good governance and the rule of law, following the recently held 2023 Harmonised General Elections.
I am pleased to highlight that our country enjoyed peace, before, during and after our free, fair, transparent and credible elections.
However, international election observers, including the SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM), said the polls did not meet regional and international standards on democratic elections.
Mnangagwa also demanded the unconditional lifting of sanctions imposed on the country by Western powers.
The President described the sanctions as illegal and unilateral, adding that Zimbabwe has made economic progress in spite of the sanctions. He said:
Zimbabwe has been under illegal, unilateral economic sanctions for 23 years, imposed by some Western countries.
These sanctions were designed to subjugate the sovereign will of the Zimbabwean people. We, therefore, demand that the unjustified unilateral sanctions be unconditionally lifted, including those imposed on countries like Cuba.
We remain grateful for the support and solidarity of progressive countries in the comity of nations. In spite of these debilitating sanctions, the people of Zimbabwe have become masters of their own destiny.
This is anchored on a philosophy that as a people, we have the duty and responsibility of developing our country, using our own domestic resources.
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