The United States claims it would speak with regional leaders about Zimbabwe’s contested general elections and how they may affect its status internationally.
China, on the other hand, demanded that any electoral disputes be brought before the courts and asserted that it does not meddle in domestic affairs.
The US State Department mentioned “inflammatory and unacceptable attacks” against election monitors from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in a statement on Monday.
“The United States is engaging regional leaders to share our concerns, including what this means for the international community’s nascent efforts to re-engage the Zimbabwean government,” it said.
“There is much at stake for the people of Zimbabwe and the region. We urge all Zimbabweans to remain peaceful and pursue grievances through established legal channels.”
In its response to the elections, China said it was ready to continue working with the government of Zimbabwe and offered congratulations to President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
China added that while there were disputes over the results, “it is our hope that the parties in Zimbabwe will put people’s interests first and resolve differences properly through legal means”.
China reiterated that it adheres to “the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs”.
President Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Mnangagwa also praised Mnangagwa for a job “well done”.
Former liberation movements in the region extend their congratulations.
The majority of the remaining southern African liberation organization have praised Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF for prolonging its rule since the country’s independence in 1980.
South Africa’s ANC, Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), and Namibia’s President Hage Geingob’s South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) have all made remarks to that effect.
Geingob came first, late on Sunday.
He is serving his second and last constitutional term, just like Mnangagwa. Namibian elections are scheduled for the next year, and Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Swapo’s first female candidate for president, is expected to run.
Tanzania followed on Monday, with Hassan saying:
I am looking forward to continuing working together in fostering the historic, economic, and diplomatic relations between Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a more detailed statement, noting that “these elections took place under a difficult economic environment due to the burdening sanctions which the people of Zimbabwe continue to unjustly endure”.
The African Union (AU) and the South African Development Community Observer Mission (SEOM), among other international observer missions, have expressed some preliminary concerns, which Ramaphosa mentioned in his remarks.
Mnangagwa triumphed in a vote that SEOM and other local and foreign monitors deemed invalid.
Former vice president of Zambia Nevers Mumba served as the mission’s leader for SADC. Some prominent Zanu-PF members have mocked him ever since the publication of his election report.
The chairman of SEOM is Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, who also serves as the chair of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defense, and Security Cooperation.
The SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC), which answers to Hichilema, is responsible for overseeing all issues relating to electoral procedures, the improvement of democracy, and good governance in the SADC area.
