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Dr Tomaz Salamao

FORMER Sadc Executive Secretary Dr Tomaz Salamao has described the harmonised elections as a model that should be followed by many African countries saying they were free, fair and credible.Dr Salamao was highly commended by President Mugabe for his handling of Zimbabwean issues.

Dr Salamao, who served as the Sadc executive secretary for two four-year terms, will be leaving the organisation next month after a successful tour of duty which also saw him being part of Zimbabwe’s facilitation process. He was also part of the high-level Sadc observer mission to the harmonised elections and said the way the elections were conducted in Zimbabwe should serve as a lesson for all countries on the continent.

“I have been working on the issue of Zimbabwe since 2008 and you can never compare the elections held then with now. There can never be perfect elections but what happened in Zimbabwe is a case study. African people should use this as a reference point of how polls should be held,” said Dr Salamao.

Dr Salamao called on parties that lost in the elections to accept the results and work for the good of the country, adding that Zimbabwe would appear on the Sadc agenda, not for the wrong reasons, but as a key player in the regional socio-economic and political landscape.
Zimbabwe is deputy chair of the bloc. — ZBC.