On June 15, SADC held an extraordinary summit on Zimbabwe in Mozambique's capital, Maputo. The main issue discussed was the Zimbabwean elections, previously scheduled for July 31. The date was set by President Robert Mugabe under the pretext of complying with the Constitutional Court's ruling that elections must be within four weeks of the dissolution of Parliament on June 29.However, this date is believed by many, including the opposition MDC, to be too soon to register voters and enact the changes in the media and security services that they believe would be necessary to ensure a free and fair election. This sentiment was echoed in the SADC official communiqu, released at the end of the summit. SADC declared that the summit acknowledged the Constitutional Court's election deadline, but "agreed on the need for the government of Zimbabwe to engage the Constitutional Court to seek more time beyond July 31, 2013 deadline for holding the Harmonised Elections."
Tendai Biti, secretary-general of the main opposition party, MDC-Tsvangirai (MDC-T), had summarised the summit deliberations via his Facebook page before the official release of the communiqu. In his summation, Biti wrote of SADC's conclusions, that the Zimbabwean government would be "ordered and directed to make an application to the Constitutional Court following consultations by all political parties, seeking to move the date of the election from July 30, 2013".The wording and substance of Biti's summation is both stronger and more forceful than SADC's actual communique, adding the words "ordered" and "directed". Indeed, the communiqu made a recommendation rather than a directive, and if Mugabe argues that he is not convinced by the arguments to seek an extension, SADC has no mechanism or legal mandate to coerce him. Biti's embellishments of SADC's conclusions can be understood, given that it was directed at party followers. But while the upside of his declaration was that it gave supporters something to celebrate, the downside is that that sense of celebration could be misplaced.
