ZESN "Categorically" Denies Team Pachedu Links
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has dismissed the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission’s (ZHRC) claims that it was collaborating with Team Pachedu to collate and tabulate the 23 August 2023 general election results to announce them prematurely.
In its election report, the ZHRC claimed that ZESN has been working with Team Pachedu to destabilise peace in the country.
However, in a statement, ZESN rejected the allegations, saying it has never collaborated with Team Pachedu. It said:
ZESN would like to categorically state that it does not and has never worked closely or collaborated with Team Pachedu to collate and tabulate results.
On election day, police officers raided ZESN offices in Harare and arrested 40 election monitors.
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The Police also confiscated computers and other related election material that was being used by the poll watchdog to monitor the election.
Those arrested were working for ZESN and the Election Resources Centre (ERC) to monitor and give updates on election proceedings. Said ZESN:
Additionally, addressing a Press conference in Harare on 24 August 2023, Police Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest of the ERC and ZESN staff and not Team Pachedu, a sure sign that the latter was never a part of the observation team working on independently verifying results.
ZESN said election observation is crucial in gathering information regarding an electoral process, to assess whether the elections are conducted per the laws of the country, regional or international principles, standards and best practices.
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