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Conditions not present for fair polls - observer group

    JOHANNESBURG

    Conditions for free and fair elections do not exist in Zimbabwe because of political violence that has created fear among the electorate, an independent international poll observer group said on Monday.

    “The conditions for credible democratic elections do not exist in Zimbabwe at this time,” the US-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) was quoted in news reports as saying.

    Former Nigerian vice president Alex Ekwueme, who is leading the NDI team on a pre-election assessment mission, told a news conference that under current conditions of violence and intimidation, democratic polling would be difficult.

    “The violence has created an atmosphere of fear and anxiety,” Ekwueme said after spending a week assessing the political atmosphere in the southern African country.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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