Zimbabwe elections: Amnesty directors in Africa speak out

When Zimbabwe’s elections were last held in 2008, the resulting violence and repression led to over 200 people being killed and 10,000 injured. The violence was so severe that hospitals ran out of crutches and 28,000 people were forced to flee their homes.

Our colleagues across Africa are rightfully concerned about a repeat of violence this year as Zanu-PF and the MDC once again go head-to-head in elections tomorrow.

The directors of Amnesty in South Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo have written an open letter to influential leaders in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), asking them to stand up for human rights in Zimbabwe and ensure that their election observers also respond to any allegations of human rights violations. You can read a copy of their letter to South African President Jacob Zuma, which was published in the South African Mail & Guardian, below.

What’s next?

Thousands of you have already sent messages to the SADC states South Africa and Tanzania, echoing the call of our African colleagues to help ensure a violence-free election. If you haven’t yet, you can email the South African authorities and keep up the pressure as polls open tomorrow.