President of the African National Congress, Cyril Ramaphosa, has defended the party’s choice to enlist Zanu-PF, the ruling party in Zimbabwe, to assist in the election campaign.
The ANC requested Zanu-PF Secretary-General Obert Mpofu to join its electioneering team in the lead-up to the May 29 elections, and this is what happened this week.
The ANC’s decision has been criticized by opposition parties due to Zimbabwe’s history of alleged election manipulation.
According to Ramaphosa, this is regular procedure.
“We are transparent about our contacts with different political parties. It isn’t kept a secret. From a policy perspective, we are aligning with different parties, so when elections take place in our nation, it is OK to announce to other sister organizations, “Hey, sister organizations, come see how we conduct our elections.”
We invite them to conferences as well, and in a similar vein, we welcome other parties to attend as observers. Currently, a mission that observes is not one that interferes. They merely come and watch; they don’t get involved or meddle.
There is no cause for alarm, according to Ramaphosa, for South Africans.
“I don’t know what those who are terrified are afraid of. They are only there to watch and, if any lessons are to be learned, to draw them, so there’s nothing to be afraid of,” he remarked.
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