Mahama lauds zeal of Zimbabweans as they elect a new president

Former President John Mahama and Chairman of the Commonwealth Elections Observer Mission in Zimbabwe has lauded the enthusiasm of Zimbabweans as they voted to elect a new president.

In an interview with Aljazeera’s AJStream, he said he took time to talk to some of the voters who could not hide their joy in exercising their franchise in a peaceful manner post the Robert Mugabe era.

“I must commend Zimbabweans as they came out in their numbers [although we do not have the official voter turn out yet], had the patience to wait for their turn to cast their vote,” he said.

The former President said the people were keen to get their voice heard through the ballot.

According to him, the whole exercise was peaceful without any incident as the team was able to give Zimbabweans an assurance of a fair and peaceful election based on the information they got from their pre-assessment team.

“We also spoke to all the stakeholders and we indicated to them our thoughts on the environment prior to the election in our arrival interview.

“All the political parties told us they had the freedom to canvass vote from across the country, unlike the previous election where there were no-go areas for some political parties.

He said the political parties expressed satisfaction with access to campaigning.