‘Zimbabwe is bound by AU democracy, governance charter’

Zimbabwe is now bound by the African Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance (ACDEG), which seeks to promote free and fair elections after President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the document for domestication.

Parliament passed a resolution to ratify the charter in March 2019, after Mnangagwa signed it last year at its first African Union (AU) heads of state and government summit in Rwanda.

In a statement yesterday, legal think-tank Veritas said Zimbabwe is now a full state party to the ACDEG charter.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has just informed us that the constitutional procedures and AU procedures to ratify the ACDEG have been completed,” the legislative watchdog said.

“In September last year, Veritas expressed concern that Zimbabwe had still not ratified the Charter. We pointed out that it was already a long time since it was signed by the President and approved by Parliament.

“After further lobbying, that process has now been completed. Mnangagwa has signed the Instrument of Ratification and Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the AU has recently submitted it to the President of the AU. Zimbabwe became a state party, upon submission of the Gazette # Rights Letter.”

This development has come at a time when the country is preparing to hold by-polls next Saturday.

Independent election observer missions have in the past considered the country’s elections not credible due to the failure to domesticate the charter and implement other electoral reforms.