Former President John Mahama and Chairman of the Commonwealth Elections Observer Mission in Zimbabwe has lauded the enthusiasm of Zimbabweans as they voted to elect a new president.

In an interview with Aljazeera’s AJStream, he said he took time to talk to some of the voters who could not hide their joy in exercising their franchise in a peaceful manner post the Robert Mugabe era.

“The atmosphere was one of enthusiasm at every polling station I went to, I took the opportunity to speak to the voters to know what their expectations were.

Met this morning, in Harare, with the Commissioner General of the #Zimbabwe Republic Police, TG Matanga, and his team to discuss their preparations for Monday”™s harmonized elections. #ZimbabweDecides2018 #Commonwealth pic.twitter.com/jnGxnzsrO7

— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) July 29, 2018

“I must commend Zimbabweans as they came out in their numbers [although we do not have the official voter turn out yet], had the patience to wait for their turn to cast their vote,” he said.

The former President said the people were keen to get their voice heard through the ballot.

Its election day in #Zimbabwe. The #Commonwealth has an observer team on the ground. Former president of Ghana and chair of the observer group, @JDMahama, is right there as the first votes are being cast.#CommonwealthElections #ZimDecides2018 pic.twitter.com/ldCI4T5KQY

— The Commonwealth (@commonwealthsec) July 30, 2018

According to him, the whole exercise was peaceful without any incident as the team was able to give Zimbabweans an assurance of a fair and peaceful election based on the information they got from their pre-assessment team.

“We also spoke to all the stakeholders and we indicated to them our thoughts on the environment prior to the election in our arrival interview.

Polls have closed and counting is under way in the #Zimbabwe general elections. Former president of #Ghana @JDMahama and chair of the #Commonwealth observer group watches as votes are being counted at the Pirenyarwa polling station.#CommonwealthElections #ZimDecides2018 pic.twitter.com/ie7SsYq2pf

— The Commonwealth (@commonwealthsec) July 30, 2018

“All the political parties told us they had the freedom to canvass vote from across the country, unlike the previous election where there were no-go areas for some political parties.

He said the political parties expressed satisfaction with access to campaigning.