SADC ambassadors endorse disputed poll

Nine SADC-accredited ambassadors have congratulated President Emmerson Mnangagwa for holding peaceful, free, fair and credible elections in August. Led by Angola’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, Agostinho da Silva Tavares, they paid a courtesy call on Mnangagwa at the State House, on Wednesday. ‘We are all here to congratulate the President for a very peaceful election ... fair, free and transparent,’ Tavares said after the meeting. New Zimbabwe reports that Mnangagwa, who is the incoming SADC chair, said the bloc's countries were collectively united by unbreakable bonds cemented by historical, cultural and family ties, being one people. ‘This unity, love and common purpose among our countries, must be nurtured and defended for shared peace and stability as well as the socio-economic development and prosperity of our people,’ he said. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission declared Mnangagwa the winner of the plebiscite with 52.6% while opposition leader Nelson Chamisa got 44% of the vote. In its final report, SADC said the election did not meet international standards and principles while the EU Election Observation Mission last month said the election was flawed.