Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern tonight said there were concerns about the fairness of Zimbabwe's election.
"While there were undoubtedly some improvements in voting procedures compared to previous elections in Zimbabwe, the evidence provided by the conduct of the campaign and the events of polling day do not give any reason to believe that the Zimbabwean government has seriously attempted to comply, as it initially promised to do, with the guidelines for the conduct of democratic elections."
"I am seriously concerned, in particular, by the relatively high numbers of voters turned away because their names did not appear on the voter register, estimated by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission at between 8 and 10 per cent nationally.
"There is also disturbing evidence regarding the management of the postal vote and how this appears to have been concentrated in certain constituencies."
Mr Ahern said his Department will be conducting a detailed assessment of the election outcome over coming days. This will be based on the report of the Irish Ambassador to Zimbabwe, who observed the elections.
Consultations will also be held with EU observers and other election monitors.
"While no definitive judgement can be made until these assessments are completed, there are already sufficient grounds for doubting the extent to which it will ultimately be possible to view these elections as free and fair", stated the Minister.