“It is important that Southern Africa and the international community identifies and learns lessons from the experience of the 2002 Zimbabwean presidential election. This paper examines the work produced by six of the many domestic, regional and international observer missions that took part in the 2002 Zimbabwe presidential elections. This paper is arranged in four sections. In the first, the definition of a
‘free and fair election’ is discussed and the conclusions of the six reports outlined. The second describes the composition and methodology of the different observer missions. The third provides a comparative
assessment of the six reports under the general headings of legislative and constitutional framework, political environment and election days. Not all observer missions commented on the same issues, and the paper quotes comments by different missions on similar issues where appropriate. The last section draws conclusions from the comparative assessment, specifically as to whether any lessons can be learnt for future election observation in the region. Annexed is a chronology of post-election developments in Zimbabwe, and a table that provides basic data on the majority of the international observer missions. This paper does not present any direct observations on the 2002 presidential election and makes no attempt to analyse the election results and voter patterns.”
