"The Zimbabwe Situation" news page
Guardian (UK)
Captive tells inside story of Zimbabwes
thugs
Villager reveals how ruling partys gangs
terrorised
opponents
Jonathan Steele in Chitimbe
Monday June 26, 2000
When
Kudzi Chamunoro went to the polling station here at the weekend his
main aim
was not to vote. He wanted to find his wife and family, and
with several
police officers on hand to guard the voting precinct and a
long line of
people patiently queuing to cast their ballots in Zimbabwes
parliamentary
election he hoped he might be safe.
Mr Chamunoro used to be district
chairman of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change in one of the most
tense places in this election
campaign - Murehwa North, north-east of Harare.
He was beaten
unconscious and taken captive on April 25 by a gang working
for
President Robert Mugabes party, Zanu-PF.
Remarkably, he was not
let go, like other prominent MDC supporters once
they have been worked over.
He was taken to a base camp and forced to
sign a Zanu-PF membership card.
Then, he says, for a period of several
weeks after his captors felt they had
broken him, he was taken with the
gangs as they terrorised local
villagers.
His inside story of how the intimidation works is
unique.
"We used to go out about six days a week," he said. "The leader
would
take us for drinks and pay for everything. Then we would move into
a
village and seek out the local headman, and ask him for a list of
all
MDC supporters. We would then hunt them down and administer
severe
beatings.
"I was forced to take part myself. I was carrying a
whip and axe handle.
I was afraid for my life and had to go along.
"I
was also taken to four rallies attended by Zanu-PF candidates. Our
gang and
other Zanu-PF youth forced people to take part. We would go
into the villages
and round people up."
Another tactic, he said, was to put on MDC
T-shirts, "and if people
responded positively they would be
beaten".
Mr Chamunoro has a gap where one of his front teeth used to be.
The last
thing he remembers before he was captured was a stone slamming into
his
mouth. But the Zanu-PF gang at least took him to the health clinic
in
Murehwa, and he has a medical card confirming that he was an assault
victim.
After five weeks he managed to escape late one night when, he
said, he
was allowed for the first time to visit the lavatory without escort.
He
ran into the bush, and walked for several miles before finding a
house
where he spent the night. Early next morning he took a bus to
Harare.
As we drove to Murehwa on Saturday, he nervously tapped the
dashboard
for much of the journey. He had found no way of sending word
to
his family that he was still alive, and was not sure what
reprisals
might have been visited on them because of his escape.
But
he was optimistic that the MDC would win the election. "I voted for
Zanu-PF
in 1995 but changed my mind because of the constant rise in
the cost of
living and the corruption of ministers. When the MDC
appeared, I soon joined
it."
Until Zanus intimidation of opponents - intensified in recent weeks
as
the election drew close - it was easy to recruit people, he said.
"A
lot in my village joined. They pay Z$10 [about 16p] for a party
card.
Young people and women were the main supporters. About 80% in my
village
support the MDC.
"Its the headman and the older men who are
pro-Zanu. The headman has
been promised Z$10,000 (167) if Zanu wins, but they
also use the
argument that Mugabe will do nothing to help our village if he
loses.
They also say that Zanu is the party which won our freedom, and the
ancestors will be angry if we dont support it. That seems to affect
the
older men particularly."
Arriving in Chitimbe, where the voting
was taking place - about 3 miles
from his village - Mr Chamunoro pointed out
the burnt-out chassis
of a car, saying it belonged to a teacher who had fled
to Harare with
his family.
Five other teachers from nearby villages
had done likewise, he said.
Teachers have been special targets of the Zanu-PF
gangs because they are
all thought to be pro-MDC and have local influence as
the best educated
people.
His anxiety visibly rising, Mr Chamunoro
wanted to drive right into the
school grounds, as close to the voters queue
as we could get. We stopped
beside a wall. Neighbours waved in
astonishment. Most thought he was
dead.
But he was too scared to get
out of the car. "I can see some of the
Zanu-PF people," he whispered. A
neighbour found Mr Chamunoro"s wife in
the queue and she came over with their
nine-month-old baby, the youngest
of their five children.
She greeted
him with a warm slapping handshake * the Shona culture not
being a
demonstrative one * and handed him the baby before getting in
the car. A few
more people came and chatted before we drove off and
parked several hundred
metres away while he and his wife discussed what
to do.
Of those who
had come to greet him, Mr Chamunoro said: "One of them was
a member of the
Zanu gang. He actually asked how I was...But they think
you are armed, which
is why they will not do anything."
Naomi Chamunoro said the gang had come
several times to their house to
search for her husband, most recently the
night before the voting began
on Saturday. Having seen him now, they were
bound to come back. It was
unsafe for her to stay.
We drove the three
miles towards the familys remote village, parked,
crossed the fields and
waded through a small river. The Chamunoros
grow a little cotton, and
vegetables, which Kudzi sells in Harare.
Naomi packed a bag, locked the
house, and sent word by a neighbour to
her mother, who lives 500 metres away,
to look after the girls until
their parents return.
"How long do you
think that will be?" I asked as we drove the 50 miles
back to Harare. The
couple consulted in Shona. "If Zanu-PF wins,
they are sure to go after anyone
who supported MDC. We may have to stay
away for several week," Mr Chamunoro
replied eventually.
"If we win, and I am sure we will, well have to give
them time to get
over their anger and adjust to the new reality. Perhaps we
can go home
already next weekend."
Telegraph (UK)
Mugabe shock troops fail to halt polling
By Caroline
Davies at Atlanta Farm, Goromonzi
DAVID STOBART and his wife,
Gillian, were the first people to vote at
their polling station. They did not
have far to travel. The polling
booth was in the charred ruins of what was
once their prosperous farm.
Blackened, twisted metal and deep piles of
ash are all that remain of Mr
Stobarts 10 tobacco barns. More than 200
self-styled independence war
veterans set fire to them, along with 95 grass
huts in which his
labourers lived. The squatters occupied Atlanta Farm four
months ago and
about 30 are still there, as indicated by the "no-go area"
warning sign
at the farm gate.
Undeterred, Mr Stobart, his wife and
his 200-strong workforce turned out
to vote. Watched by a group of the
squatters wearing Zanu-PF T-shirts,
they queued to cast their votes in the
derelict outbuilding that used to
be the farm kindergarten and
school.
Mr Stobart, 64, who was born and raised on Atlanta Farm, said: "I
was
the first to vote. I had to, to set an example to my workforce.
They
have been through hell. They have been under unbelievable pressure
and
intimidation. The war veterans, if thats what they are, called them
into
their camp every night for re-education. They told them their vote
was
not secret and they would know whom they had voted for."
Although
the squatters call themselves war veterans, many were not even
born when the
Rhodesian bush war was at its height. But they are the
shock troops of
Zanu-PF in its struggle to retain power. So bad was the
intimidation at
Atlanta Farm that Mr Stobart offered to transport his
workers to another
polling station where the atmosphere would be less
menacing. They
declined.
To a man and woman they voted.
Among them was Oliver
Kumforomo, 50, one of Mr Stobarts tractor
drivers, who hobbled in on
crutches, his leg broken in three places and
his shoulder blade fractured by
the squatters.
The fact that these workers were even eligible to vote is
down to Mr
Stobart and his wife. When the squatters arrived in 10 vehicles
and
began to run riot, the workers fled. The invaders burned all but one
of
the grass huts and destroyed all 27 of the brick buildings in
the
labourers village.
Mr Stobart said: "They stole diesel and went,
very systematically, right
through the village. At the houses made of brick
they poured fuel under
the doors and set it alight.
Then they took all
the workers belongings, put them in the grass huts
and burned those as well.
Some of those labourers had lived there for 40
years. They lost everything,
even down to their identity cards."
His wife added: "We had an enormous
task getting their ID cards replaced
so that they could vote. But we managed
it, and vote they did." Mr
Stobart has not asked how they voted. But he
disclosed that, shortly
after the squatters moved in, the farm was visited by
supporters of the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change who handed out
T-shirts and
caps. He said: "The labourers got quite fired up by the MDC,
especially
as they had had their homes burnt."
When the squatters
discovered the visit, they ordered the workers to
hand over their T-shirts.
One worker was abducted, handcuffed and taken
to a river, into which they
threatened to throw him.
He was later released, but the message was
clear.
Mr Stobart said: "I think the labour had just about enough by that
time.
They formed their own football team and handed out whistles. If
anyone
found themselves being threatened, they blew the whistle and the
team
turned up."
The huts are being rebuilt now and Mr and Mrs Stobart
have returned. But
he has lost three quarters of his crop, worth "a couple of
a million"
Zimbabwe dollars (33,000). His main business is as a seed farm and
he is
struggling to maintain his crops.
His son Michael, 34, who lived
nearby, has refused to return with his
young family. Mrs Stobart said: "This
has affected us all very much. I
caught my four-year-old grandson singing Old
MacDonald had a Farm the
other day, but he had changed the words and was
singing: And on that
farm there were some war veterans, Ee-Eye Ee-Eye-O. And
they burnt my
house, and they burnt my toys, and they burnt my books and they
burnt my
videos . . ."
Independent (UK)
Last night they slept by ballot boxes, fearful this
nation could wake up
to a new terror
Alex Duval Smith
26 June
2000
William Mapfumo sat despondently by his ballot box
yesterday,
contemplating the terrible prospect of Zimbabwes election
aftermath.
Dazed after spening two days and nights guarding the
waist-high
container, the energetic opposition campaigner had realised that
the
terror may not be over ? the threats, the hiding away, and the worry
for
relatives.
Mr Mapfumo, a polling station agent for the opposition
Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), is one of the heroes of this election.
At 23 he
is already a veteran of a war: not that which brought President
Robert
Mugabe to power in 1980, but the war for multi-party
democracy.
"If we lose, it will be terrible because the government will
never
forgive us and our own supporters will not believe the result,"
said
Mr Mapfumo. "If we win, it could be bad because the ruling
party still wants
to run the country. I am just counting on my candidate
to find me a safe
place to hide."
Like thousands in Harares Mabvuku township, Mr Mapfumo
has no job and,
like hundreds, he has diminished his employment prospects by
refusing to
carry a membership card for the ruling Zimbabwe African National
Union ?
Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF).
Earlier yesterday, John Nkomo, the
Zanu-PF chairman, underlined the
partys uncompromising view of power by
ruling out the formation of a
government of national unity if the MDC gains a
majority of
parliamentary seats. Mr Nkomo said President Mugabe was "an
institution"
and that, as the constitution allows, he would appoint a Zanu-PF
cabinet
whatever the result of the parliamentary elections.
Mr Nkomos
claim that Zanu-PF was prepared to make Zimbabwe ungovernable
sent shock
waves through Harares townships. Young men have been worst
hit by Zimbabwes
economic crisis, and for four repressive months they
have channelled their
anger into campaigning for the MDC and other
opposition parties, in the
belief of a change through the ballot box.
The MDCs open-hand salute ? a
deliberate contrast to the clenched fist
of Zanu-PF ? became a popular,
friendly greeting. At rallies, young men
enthusiastically held up red cards
to President Mugabe ? a footballing
reference ? andfor a while MDC T-shirts
were worn openly.
Yesterday, however, Mr Mapfumo was fearing the worst.
"We will be so
angry if we do not win because we have been so good and so
fair and we
can see that everyone is voting for us. It will be war," he
said.
Outside the gates of the polling station, in Mabvuku High School,
there
were dangerous portents yesterday of a Zanu-PF revenge campaign ?
a
group of young men taking names and identification numbers of
voters
entering the compound. Mary Jonga, an election monitor from a
church
group, said: "As people go in and also as they go out, the Zanu
youths
are asking them who they support. One voter told us she had
been
informed that her house would be taken away if she voted for MDC or
UP
(United Parties).
"We called the police and they were good, they
removed them
this morning. But this afternoon they were back at the other
end
of the compound," said Mrs Jonga, one of thousands of monitors
barred
from entering her designated polling station because ?
through
deliberate official obstruction ? her accreditation card had not
been
processed.
What late on Saturday at Mabvuku had seemed like an
uplifting
experiment in democracy was by last night looking like a turn for
the
worse from a despotic government. On Saturday, Mr Mapfumo, sharing
a
one-bar heater with other party agents in a bare classroom, had
joked
with Zanu-PFs Francisca Zhou that his party had brought him a
better
dinner.
He had been heartened by a high turn-out on Saturday ?
which was
considerably reduced yesterday ? and Mrs Zhou, 36, a seamstress,
had
joked with him that she would stuff the ballot box if he left the
room
to visit the lavatory. He had entered into a lively discussion with
the
other Zanu-PF agent, Lillian Chigumbu, aged 45, about Zimbabwes 70
per
cent unemployment, inflation and interest rates; about foreign
donors
and the role of whites in society.
By yesterday afternoon, Mr
Mapfumo was looking grim. He said of the
Zanu-PF agents: "You cannot talk to
them about anything * they are
ignorant" and demanded to go outside to answer
questions about the
elections.
Mr Mapfumo, who fled his home a month
ago after he was threatened with
death for tearing down Zanu-PF posters stuck
to its walls, was followed
out by Taurai Kufa, 23. Mr Kufa was the agent for
UP ? the alliance of
Bishop Abel Muzorewa, a veteran politician who was
interim prime
minister at the end of white rule in 1979. Mr Kufa said:
"Zanu-PF youth
have been grouping on the roads and threatening people. I have
been
followed every time I have gone to another polling station in
the
area this weekend. Our agent at the Tafara 1 polling station just up
the
road was denied access to the building. If Zanu-PF wins, the
opposition
parties will seek a court order to see if the process was fair
and
transparent. We are getting more and more doubtful about
this."
The Electoral Directorate ? which forbade journalists yesterday
from
entering the press briefing room that it has established at the
home
affairs offices in Harare ? claimed last week that, at the end of
voting
at 7pm last night, ballot boxes would be taken under supervision
to
counting centres in each of the 120 constituencies. The counting,
it
said, would begin at 8am this morning with a result expected
later
today.
But last night, as the European Unions 150-strong team of
observers met
ambassadors for an emergency meeting in Harare to discuss the
confusion
and irregularities, more and more doubt was being cast on the
election,
and increasing fears were being expressed about the
aftermath.
Journalists, observers and monitors have noted a range of
discrepancies
since voting began on Friday: Up to 20 per cent of registered
voters
have been missing from lists in some constituencies; photographs
of
candidates have appeared on some ballot papers but not others; and
in
rural areas, war veterans from some of the countrys occupied farms
have
been involved in ferrying voters to polling stations.
The
weekends twice-delayed parliamentary elections ? President Mugabes
term does
not end until 2002 ? come after four months of intimidation
and more than 30
murders. They have been inflicted on an electorate
unaccustomed to voting
and prey to influence from employers or
traditional chiefs. In a country
where the ruling partys power has
been virtually unchallenged for 20 years,
many people are first-time
voters because they have not bothered
before.
Mr Mapfumo, himself a first-time voter, shook his head and rubbed
his
hands over the warmth rising from the heater. "It has got to have
been
worth it," he said. "If the MDC loses, or if the ruling power refuses
to
listen to us, my candidate says I will have to return to my village
for
three to six months. But I cannot do that because Zanu-PF has
already
visited my parents at home. I shall just stay in Harare and
fight."
Times (UK)
Voters defy beatings as thugs lose control
FROM DANIEL
MCGRORY IN MREWA
DRESSED to kill, three bikers showed up at the
polling station with
orders to scare away the hundreds of voters waiting
patiently at the
school gates.
The bikers noisily steered their
machines to the front of the queue then
peeled off their jackets to reveal
identical T-shirts emblazoned with
Robert Mugabes face.
Punching the
air, they chanted Zanu (PF) slogans and jabbed their boots
at young women
crouched on a grass verge. One pointed to baseball bats
strapped to the sides
of their machines, none of which had re gistration
plates.
For a few
moments the hum of conversation was stilled. Then an elderly
man who had been
sitting on a brick wall stood up and shouted at the
flying pickets: "Your
time is up, you are finished." The bikers scanned
the faces of the crowd
staring back at them. Only days ago these people
would have run. Not any
more. They stood their ground and the men in
black rode away.
Moses
Chicwango, the man who had confronted the bikers, told how 22
years ago he
and Mr Mugabe were guerrillas in exile in Mozambique,
fighting the chimurenga
as they call their war of independence. Ask this
father of eight what he
thinks of his old comrade now and he spits on
the ground and says "traitor".
"I never thought I would see the day he
would send filth like those bikers to
bully our girls."
The scores of people around him nodded and shook his
hand. There is a
sense that the months of intimidation have failed to dent
most
Zimbabweans desire to rid themselves of Mr Mugabes regime.
Some
risked their lives yesterday to mark their cross on the ballot
paper.
Jealous Makombe woke to find a knife being pressed to his
throat, seven hours
before the polls opened. In the darkness he could
make out three figures in
his bedroom. He recognised one from his voice
as the leader of a gang of
so-called veterans who eight weeks ago led an
invasion of the farm near
Macheke where he works. Mr Makombe, 33, still
has the ugly scars across his
forehead from the beating he took that
day.
"The man was pushing the
tip of the knife into my neck. He told me if I
left my village to vote then
he would kill me and all my family, who are
known supporters of
MDC."
His mother, sleeping in the next room, did not hear the commotion.
She
lost the hearing in her left ear in a beating that she received when
she
was ambushed last month.
Even so, she encouraged her son to vote.
Mr Makombe slipped out of a
window into the bush surrounding his familys home
in Chaza village and
trekked eight miles to a polling station outside
Macheke. He kept a
fedora pulled low over his eyes to hide his wounds and
disguise himself.
When, after a two-hour wait, it came to his turn to
register his name at
Craigie-Lea school, he shuffled into the polling
station. He stopped
dead in his tracks. Five yards away sat a man nominated
by Zanu (PF) as
its election observer, a man called Ugly who is one of the
most
notorious squatter leaders in this region.
Mercifully, Ugly had
dozed off in the stifling room, giving Jealous time
to make his mark and run.
Once outside he sidled up to Bruce Gemmill, a
farmer he once worked for and
whose son was severely beaten by the gang
who murdered their neighbour in
April.
Mr Gemmill, who moved to the region from Essex in 1972, searched
in vain
for international monitors. He had learnt that at a voting centre
15
minutes drive away Zanu (PF) thugs had shown up. "They ordered the
men
and women to stand in separate lines and now they are demanding to
see
their identity cards."
He approached police. When the veterans saw
him creating a fuss with
three uniformed officers they melted into the bush.
Mr Gemmill said:
"The time has come to stand up against these thugs. Their
days are
numbered."
Times (UK)
White minister attacks Britain
FROM MICHAEL DYNES IN
HARARE
BRITISH "arrogance and insensitivity" lie at the root of the
bitterness
between the UK and Zimbabwe, Dr Timothy Stamps, a former British
citizen
and the only white member of President Mugabes Cabinet, said
yesterday.
Britain has "consistently reneged on commitments to help
finance land
reform in its former colony" and has played a leading role
in
"manipulating and financing internal discontent in an effort
to
discredit and humiliate Mr Mugabes Government," he added.
Insisting
that "there is no doubt that Zanu (PF) will form the next
administration in
this country," Dr Stamps blamed the deterioration in
relations between London
and Harare on the "immaturity" of Tony Blairs
Labour Government, and the
"insulting and patronising" outbursts of
Peter Hain, the Foreign Office
Minister.
Dr Stamps, who came to what was then Rhodesia as a public
health doctor
in the mid-1960s, said that Zimbabwe had been "unfairly
penalised" by
the international financial community, which had withdrawn
desperately
needed aid to bully Mr Mugabe into submission.
A graduate
of the Welsh National School of Medicine, Dr Stamps was a
leading figure in
the white opposition to Ian Smiths white supremacist
Government during the
1970s. Since his appointment as Health Minister in
1990, Dr Stamps has become
one of a tiny circle of people who retain Mr
Mugabes confidence. While
respected for his health work, he is regarded
outside Zanu (PF) as an
apologist for the regime.
Dismissing British allegations that much of the
36 million it has
donated towards land reform has been diverted to buy land
for senior
Zanu (PF) officials, Dr Stamps said: "There have been
bureaucratic
inefficiencies. But claims that the money has gone to what
Britain
calls President Mugabes cronies are untrue."
Echoing Mr
Mugabes assertions that "external forces" are behind the
growth in support
for the opposition MDC party, Dr Stamps said: "British
companies like Lonmin
(formerly Lonhro) and Tory MPs who own land here
have donated large sums of
money to what they call human rights
organisations.
"There is some
discontent, but I have seen far more opposition from
within Zanu (PF). Once
all the shouting has died down, Britain and
Zimbabwe will have to sit down
and engage in meaningful discussion.
There is no
alternative."
VATENDI VACHAKUNDA
Election Briefing,
Sunday, 25 June 2000
The drums of freedom have begun
beating in the hearts of our people. They
are preparing for democratic
change.
In 1980 Zimbabweans voted for political liberation from
colonial
oppressors;
in the year 2000 Zimbabweans are again voting for
freedom. This time from
the corrupt.
Hundreds of thousands
of Zimbabweans have already made their mark on ballot
papers in dusty
school rooms and in candle lit tents. . People are not
standing in long
queues for hours to vote for the status quo.
This election is
proceeding as we predicted on Thursday:
There was a last minute flurry of
violence and aggressive conduct designed
to deter polling agents on
Friday night and Saturday morning. There were
armed barricades, beatings
and abductions. This we anticipated from the
very
violent process that
preceded the election.
We had many incidents, most of them minor,
reported on Saturday morning -
we
conveyed 60 incidents to the press
and to international observers,in four
briefing papers on Saturday, as a
sample of what was being reported. They
were either mostly acts of
intimidation, but very many related to the
incompetence of the Registrar
General.
However, by Saturday morning there was a decrease in
complaints and since
then voting is proceeding
quietly.
Those who sought to intimidate have become awed by the
incredible
determination of people to vote.
Our concerns
are these - the progressive disenfranchisement of people -
which we
highlighted in the Thursday press briefing. And those
concerns
are
proving to be wellplaced.
That process began with
the two changes to the Electoral Act in the 3 weeks
before the election.
It continued with problems with the voters roll, the
destruction of
identity discs, and problems with the postal vote among
other
issues
we have already highlighted.
At polling stations we have seen and had
reported to us problems with the
voters roll - the Minister of Home
Affairs himself was not on the roll and
had to be given special
permission to vote. In some constituencies we have
seen such anomalies as
entire sections of the roll, say pages one to 40 not
being available, or
none of the surnames beginning with M, as a
further
example.
Today has seen a calm voting process,
characterised by the determination of
people to vote.
* Our
concerns are that the extreme slowness of voting in some areas
may see
many voters queueing all day but ultimately unable to vote.
* We are
concerned about the sealing of ballot boxes - some were not
sealed
properly in Harare yesterday. And then we urge the
careful
observaton
of the movement of the boxes and the counting
process.
* Ultimately; violence and intimidation may prove to have had
less of
an effect on the vote than electoral irregularities, however, it
is too
early to see whether these are on a scale that will have an impact
on the
result.
*
So far what we are seeing is less
deliberate fraud, than massive
incompetence on behalf of the office of
the Registrar General. This
incompetence is symbolic of the contempt with
which this government has
held
the rights of the Zimbabwean people.
The right to vote is considered with
the same contempt as the right to
decent health care. And so we have had
progressive disenfranchisement.
Let us take the example of soldiers in the
Democratic Republic of Congo,
for one. We believe they have been denied the
right to vote in this
election because the Registrar General's office
failed
to get the
logistics in place to send and receive their ballots. By the
close of
postal voting at noon on Saturday 9 924 postal ballot papers had
been
issued, and around 1 000 still had to be processed. This
includes
diplomats, the armed forces and police on duty at polling
stations this
weekend and soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It is an
indicator
that the Office of the Registrar General did not
deal with postal voting
sufficiently timeously to give all those working
or abroad time to vote.
There were relatively low postal vote tallies in
most constituencies. Those
with the highest numbers of postal votes
included Kadoma East (303); Mutare
central (350); Mutare North (452);
Masvingo central (256); Dzivarasekwa
(247). But what we also believes
it means is that if you reflect on the
fact that of all the postal votes
counted for security officers working
this
weekend, plus diplomats,
plus 11 000 soldiers in the DRC, it appears
according to the information
we have that those soldiers have been
disenfranchised - they have not
been given the privilege of voting in this
election.
There
has been an obsession with race emanating from ZanuPF in
this
election
process. Racism is fascism. Failed political leaders
always look for
scapegoats, and despots always resort to fascism. The
MDC is a nonracial
organisation, we are proud to say we respect the
rights of all human
beings.
Diversity is strength - if
it is celebrated and if tolerance becomes the
norm.
Over
the 20 years of ZanuPF rule civil society collapsed. People feared
to
dissent. Human rights issues were shelved as activists became afraid
of
persecution. In South Africa and Zambia, the trade union movement
gave a
voice to the voiceless, it created the basis for fresh
political
mobilisation and that too happened in Zimbabwe. What we have
seen in the
nine months since the launch of the Movement for Democratic
Change is the
rise of a new energy in Zimbabwe. Our campaign has been
run by volunteers
relying on donations ... and all of those people are
fuelled by hope.
We believe that new energy will carry us through into a
new and more
vigrous
future. This nation which Robert Mugabe had no
hope of uniting - he was
after all a military officer and not someone
schooled in listening to the
heart of ordinary people and acting on their
behalf - this nation will
become united for the first time in its history
under an MDC
government.
Keep up the
momentum!
Regards,
MDC Support Centre
8th
Floor, Gold Bridge
Eastgate
Harare
Guqula
Izenzo/Maitiro Chinja
"Zimbabwe's strength lies in racial and
ethnic diversity - we will overcome
attempts to divide us" (Morgan
Tsvangirai)
COUNTDOWN CONSIDERATIONS
A higher voter turnout than the independnece
elections of 1980, as
Zimbabweans vote for real freedom
Response to
European Union interim statement
Southern African imperatives
With high
authority comes high responsibility
26 June 2000
Southern Africa
now needs to take collective responsibility to ensure that
President Robert
Mugabe respects an MDC parliamentary victory, MDC president
Morgan Tsvangirai
has said.
Early exit poll indicators are that the MDC will win a sweeping
victory and
that the people of Zimbabwe have defied violence, intimidation
and measures
in the electoral system designed to hamper the right to
vote.
There are 5,3m potential voters in Zimbabwe. Of these approximately
one
milion live and work outside the country and could not vote in
these
elections. In addition, a significant number of voters who should have
been
able to vote were not allowed to vote - reasons included failure with
voters
rolls, and a refusal in some areas by election officials to accept
voter
receipts - the European Union estimates that 7% of voters were denied
their
right to vote because of this, but the MDC estimates that at least 10%
of
voters were affected by this. This would mean that around 430 000
voters
were disenfranchised in this way; which would mean that this
weekend;'s
elections saw a 77,5% voter turnout - higher than the 65% voter
turn out
that saw Zimbabwe gain independence in elections in 1980.
Tsvangirai said: "such an incredibly high voter turnout demonstrates
the
determination of Zimbabweans to free themselves from tyranny. The choce
was
clear they could vote for a status quo that has impoverished them or
vote
for goodness and hope. A higher turnout favours change."
Speaking
as counting stations across the country were busy scrutinising the
votes of
an estimated 3m Zimbabweans, Tsvangirai noted that the outcome of
the
Zimbabwe voting process would have a ripple effect across the region.
"Robert
Mugabe must act with the best interests of the region foremost in
his mind.
If he follows an erratic route then it is up to regional leaders
to call
Mugabe to order. This is not just a task for Zimbabweans.
"Southern Africa is
a region where the fortunes of each nation are
intertwined. The crisis in
Zimbabwe has already had an impact on currencies
and investor confidence in
the region. I am confident that regional leaders
will act in a manner to
ensure that regional commitments to the respect for
democratic outcomes will
be honoured in Zimbabwe, and that the economic and
strategic interests of all
will be strengthened."
The International Monetary Fund and World Bank
have already stopped further
assistance to Zimbabwe until democratic norms
are respected. The United
Nations pulled out of the observer process because
of its concerns. Last
Friday, the Senate Bill on Zimbabwe was passed in
Washington - this step
could pave the way for future steps, including
sanctions, against a
government that did not respect democratic processes.
The European Union -
which is the largest contributor of development
assistance to Zimbabwe -
last night noted that "high levels of violence,
intimidation and coercion
marred the election campaign." Next week (July 5)
the European Development
Fund will meet to discuss potential new aid to
Zimbabwe.
The EU has already made it clear this will be linked to "the extent
to which
the new dispensation in Zimbabwe respects the will of the
people...(and) the
manner in which the political forces withint the country
work together to
address the problems confronting Zimbabwe."
Tsvangirai said: "The European Union confirms our own concerns on
the
election. To be free and fair an election must be judged on what
happened
before the election, during and after. The process has to be
examined as a
whole. The voting has gone exceptionally well. There were few
instances of
violence and intimidation. The MDC will not dismiss the outcome
of the
election, we will honour it.
"And we will look at criminal
prosecutions against those involved in
violence, the rule of law has to be
implemented quickly.
"An MDC victory will see ZanuPF having to negotiate
some form of power
sharing agreement with the MDC, however, the precise
nature of that will be
determined by an MDC executive committee meeting on
Wednesday - and by
political conditions prevailing in the country at the
time," Morgan
Tsvangirai, MDC president said.
In further reports of
intimidation around the electoral process last night:
* MDC vice
president, Gibson Sibanda escaped with his life last night
after a lone
gunman in a passing vehicle opened fire as Sibanda left a
polling station.
The alleged assailant was arrested by police.
* Harare: While polling agents
were being dropped off at their homes
in Glen Norah last night, three men
appeared and began pelting polling
agents with stones, before firing three
shots at the agents who fled.
* Ruffingora, Nchetu - David Duffield
(091240171) was asked to follow
ballot boxes with electoral agents, when he
returned to his farm at 6.30am
this morning he was surrounded by around 20
war veterans who became
threatening. MDC officials contacted the police.
*
Mberengwa West - Mr Hove the MDC candidate (09226889) said that
ZanuPF youths
had entered the polling station at Ghah School on Sunday;
tampered with
ballot boxes and began taking the names of voters as they
entered to
vote.
* Chitungwiza, Harare - Boniface (023314197) reported that
ZanuPF
women were noting down the names of voters as they entered the
polling
station.
* Bikita, Masvingo - Candidate Edmore Marima was
assaulted by ZanuPF
supporters on Saturday and was discharged after
hospitalisation on Monday.
(0248-2218)
* Hurungwe East, Mashonaland West -
On Saturday polling agents were
initially not allowed to enter polling
stations. The matter was resolved
after Commonwealth observers were
informed.
NATIONAL
NEWS
Monday 26
,June
DRC withdrawal ruled
out
6/26/00
11:56:42
AM (GMT +2)
Staff
Reporter
THE leaders of three Southern Africa countries
met in Harare yesterday over the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) and agreed that they are not about to
withdraw their troops.
A one-day summit held in the
capital while Zimbabwe was in the middle of a
parliamentary election, was attended by President
Mugabe, Sam
Nujoma of Namibia and Congolese President, Laurent
Kabila.
Mugabe told a news conference after the summit:
"Our troops will remain in the Congo for as long as
necessary. The peace process in that country will decide
how long they will be there." He said allied troops from
Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia would be withdrawn "but not
until we're guaranteed of peace in the Congo and
sustenance of the sovereignty of the government of
the Congo." Nujoma said a summit of the Southern
African Development Community heads of state agreed
three years ago to help intervene in any member country
if there was any attempt to overthrow a legitimate
government.
He said it was for this reason that South
Africa and Botswana had given military support to the
Lesotho government. Nujoma said the withdrawal of Namibian
troops would only be carried out when peace and
stability were restored.
Mugabe said yesterday's meeting
had been called to get feedback from Kabila on the
situation in his country. He said the leaders discussed the
immediate withdrawal of Ugandan and Rwandan troops which
continued to violate the ceasefire in the DRC and
compliance with the Kampala disengagement plan which called for
the immediate withdrawal of the rebel armies.
There is a massive turn-out of voters at all
Polling Stations that we have heard from. There are, however, problems occurring
at all Polling Stations. These are the more important ones. Please pass this on
- VERY URGENT !!:
1) There are occurrences where people are not
listed on the Supplemantary Voters Roll, even though they have re-registered
recently, and even though they have their "Certificate of Registration as a
Voter" slip. In some cases there may not be a Supplementary Roll at the polling
station. Please tell everyone that the Election Directorate has issued a
Directive that all Voters who have a "Certificate of Registration as a Voter"
slip must be allowed to vote. Please tell people in this situation that they
should insist on this as a right. If they are refused, they should approach the
Presiding Officer, or report it to an MDC Polling Agent, or phone in on our
HOTLINES -
091-244 699, 091-244 701, 091-244 705,
091-307 896
AND GIVE US THEIR FULL DETAILS. THEY
MUST REPORT THIS SO THAT WE CAN KEEP IT IN OUR RECORDS FOR A LEGAL CHALLENGE IF
REQUIRED. If rejected, they should also try going to another
Polling Station in their Constituency, where there may be a more co-operative
Presiding Officer.
2) In some Constituencies, notably Harare North and
Harare South, there have been reports of Ballot Papers where there are blank
boxes where they are not expected. As you go across the paper from left to
right, there are four boxes on each line. Each line represents a seperate
Party/Candidate. the boxes from left to right should have:
- first square - Party Name
- second square - the name, or photo, of the
candidate
- third square - the party symbol
- fourth square - blank for your mark
On some ballot papers, the row for MDC, and
possibly others, the box for the Candidates name/picture is blank. There is
concern that some voters will inadvertantly put their mark in the wrong blank
box. We need to spread the word that the mark must go in the rightmost box only,
otherwise it will be rejected as a spoilt paper. Also let them know that if they
make a mistake on their Ballot Paper - for whatever reason - they have the right
to go back to the Polling Officer (before they put it into the box obviously)
and ask for a new Ballot Paper. This is their right! The spoilt Ballot Paper
must be recorded and processed as such, as per standard procedures. If this is
refused, then the occurrence must be reported as given above.
Please also report any other occurences of
irregularities, intimidation etc - WE NEED TO KNOW!
Regards
Brian FitzPatrick
MDC Support Centre - Matabeleland