News24
Zim cops threaten arrests
30/03/2005 10:03 -
(SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe police warned on Wednesday that voters casting
their
ballot in Thursday's parliamentary elections should leave polling
stations
immediately after voting or risk arrest.
Police assistant
commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena was quoted in the
state-controlled daily
Herald on Wednesday as saying that police would
"arrest those who were bent
on causing mayhem and anarchy at polling
stations".
"The so-called
vigils are attempts at disturbing the peace and everyone is
strongly warned
against participating in illegal activities," he said.
The opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has been urging its
supporters to wait
outside polling stations until counting is over, as a
safeguard against
attempts to rig the ballot.
At a rally in Harare Sunday MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai cautioned thousands
of supporters: "Don't go away and celebrate
that you have won (after
voting), you can only win after the count. We don't
want them to steal the
vote. If they cheat, they are going to have problems
with the people".
New controversy also emerged late on Tuesday when the
head of a leading
pro-democracy organisation said electoral authorities had
illegally changed
the rules for announcing results after the vote
count.
Mike Davies, chairman of the Combined Harare Residents
Association, said
that political party representatives attending training
sessions on Tuesday
for party polling agents, were instructed to station
themselves inside
polling stations to monitor voting.
After the votes
were counted, they were told, the results in each polling
station would have
to be forwarded to the administrative centre in each
constituency.
Polling agents were told "they are not allowed to
communicate the results
until the constituency result is announced," Davies
said.
"This is a direct contravention of the electoral act which requires
that the
result in each polling stations be announced to the public
immediately after
the count," he said.
"It raises the spectre of the
rigging that occurred in (presidential
elections) in 2002," he added. -
dpa
politinfo.com
Zimbabwe Excludes 100,000 from Voting
Mar 29, 2005
Harare
With time running out before Zimbabwe's parliamentary election on
Thursday,
there have been many last minute problems. One of the biggest so
far is the
exclusion of up to 100,000 government workers from
voting.
Close to 100,000 government workers have recently been
commissioned by the
Zimbabwe government to work at the country's 8,000
polling stations on
election day, making it impossible for many of them to
cast ballots in their
own election districts. The one option they did have
to vote was by absentee
ballot, but the deadline for casting ballots by mail
was March 21 and many
of the government workers did not learn of their poll
monitoring duties
until after the deadline had passed.
Though their
political allegiances are seldom talked about, the opposition
Movement for
Democratic Change says many of those working for the government
in urban
areas do not support the ruling ZANU-PF.
Another issue of concern is the
government's move to increase the number of
polling stations in rural
areas.
Bryant Elliott, an expert on Zimbabwe's elections, says the new
measures to
increase the number of voting stations means that a maximum of
600 votes
will be cast in each ballot box. This, he said, would undermine
the secrecy
of the ballot because it makes it easier to identify how people
voted
village by village.
Bishop Sebastian Bakare, head of the
Anglican church in Zimbabwe's eastern
Manicaland province, says rural people
are worried that if they are
suspected of voting for the opposition, they
will be denied food. Only the
government is allowed to hold any stocks of
the staple food, maize.
The opposition also has concerns about what
happens after the voting. The
results at the polling stations may only be
announced by a central electoral
authority, the National Logistics
Committee. The committee is staffed by the
Commissioner of Police Augustine
Chihuri and other leading government
officials. No independent observers or
opposition members are allowed to
monitor the committee.
The
opposition went to court two weeks ago asking that the committee not be
allowed to be the sole announcers of the votes. So far, the court has not
heard the case.
In addition, an opposition group, Justice for
Agriculture, claims ZANU-PF
has warned several of the few remaining white
farmers that if people vote
for the opposition at polling stations on their
farms, they will be evicted.
ZANU-PF held a major rally in a rural area
50 kilometers north of Harare
Tuesday. The main speaker, Elliott Manyika,
called for a free and fair poll
without violence.
March 30, 2005
~~~ Newsletter 059
~~~
Open letter to Morgan Tsvangirai
Join our
mailing list
Remember that you must be
connected to the internet to view the images in this newsletter
For both
life and peace, Zimbabwe needs a change of government.
The
rallies are proving it, the TV debates are showing it, and the buzz on the
street lets us know that everyone is ready to get to the polls on 31 March. We
are hearing that zanu pf officials and supporters are running scared. Zvakwana
hopes that this momentum will soon turn into the people of Zimbabwe demanding
more than MDC in Parliament. The MDC must insist that mugabe stands down so we
get a change of government. And all Zimbabweans must stand UP and take what is
theirs: a better future.
In this newsletter:
- zanu
pf caught red handed with fake fliers
- Open Letter to Morgan Tsvangirai,
President of the MDC
- You can’t be neutral on a moving train
- Blog for
freedom
What a desperate regime will do
As we approach
Election Day, the small dictator is showing his true colours. Last night at
approximately 7pm zanu pf campaigners in Highfield in Harare were caught red
handed giving out fake fliers which were telling people lies. These fliers were
printed by zanu pf and were trying to tell people to boycott the elections. The
interesting thing is that they had printed the MDC’s logo on these fliers. This
goes to show how desperate and dishonest this regime is at it approaches D-Day.
Zvakwana urges Zimbabweans to be vigilant and to verify information with people
or organisations they respect before they accept it as fact.
Open
Letter to Morgan Tsvangirai
A copy of this letter was
couriered to Morgan Tsvangirai’s Harare residence on 28 March 2005
Dear MT,
“No
way will elections kick out zanu pf. They cheated in 2000 and 2002. They will
rig these elections. And when they do, I hope that people get so disillusioned
that they really organise against this government and kick them out by a
non-violent, popular mass uprising.” - Archbishop Pius Ncube
We would like to take this
opportunity to share some of our thoughts with you.
We firmly believe that the
MDC, and civil society, cannot possibly accept the results of this forthcoming
election. More than that, they cannot simply reject the election results through
legal challenges, or press statements, or observer briefings. We need a unified,
well-led, coordinated protest regardless of the outcome of these elections.
Anything less would be an insult to the people of Zimbabwe and a betrayal of
democracy.
Unless the MDC wins 101
seats to zanu pf’s 19 (enough to be able to rewrite the Constitution), Zimbabwe
will remain in the political deadlock it is currently experiencing. Even if the
MDC won a Parliamentary majority, the ministers and commissions which
are
appointed by mugabe will remain in force, and the MDC’s effectiveness
would be largely compromised.
We understand that the MDC
is constrained by the protocols associated with being a political party in
Parliament. For this reason it is essential that civil society be encouraged
to
spearhead the people's protest against another rigged election. Civil
society's voice needs to be supported with the people power the MDC is able to
mobilise. Without MDC's active collaboration to commit and mobilise its rank and
file in support of these protests, civil society's efforts will be all bark and
no bite.
Like the MDC, civil society
is not free of dissent and discord. However, we can take strength from the
knowledge that we all wish to see the end of mugabe's destructive reign. There
is very little time left, so it is imperative that the right strategy is
employed to co-ordinate and combine resources. All possible partners need to be
lobbied in these last few days before the election to co-operate and co-ordinate
as equal partners in the struggle for a democratic
Zimbabwe.
We believe that waiting for
2008 for a change of government is a dangerous strategy. After 8 years of
supporting an opposition party, Zimbabweans may well feel fatigued. zanu pf
might have listened to some of its reformists and convinced mugabe to accede to
a younger, more vibrant successor. There is little doubt that the General
Election 2005 will have given zanu pf a sharp wake up call. We can expect them
to improve on their governance so that they don’t reach the 2008 Presidential
Election as bankrupt as they currently are. The MDC will have spent 3 more years
trying to raise funds, build and maintain structures and quell internal power
struggles. It will have to yet again print material, campaign, deploy polling
agents and monitor elections in a hostile environment. And it will yet again
have to confront another rigged election with the “new zanu pf” intent on
keeping power at all costs. All this while trying to promote democracy under a
dictatorship that aligns the MDC with the likes of Osama Bin Laden!
At no other time in zanu
pf’s history have they been more unpopular. Surely this is the time to move in
and end zanu pf’s tyranny? We do not doubt the MDC’s capacity to meet the
many
challenges ahead. Indeed, you have consistently demonstrated that you
can contest flawed elections. What we question is the usefulness of allowing
three more years to pass as a contained parliamentary opposition while waiting
for the 2008 election.
No matter how you look at
it, accepting the results of Thursday’s election through occupying Parliament,
or even contesting them through “traditional,” legal structures does not deliver
the
transformation that the Zimbabwean people are depending on the MDC for.
The only way to achieve that transformation is to flatly refuse to accept the
election results in the most public and active of ways. The MDC must take a
unified stance and refuse to take up its seats in Parliament - be they 5 or 95
seats.
In the recent examples of
Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine and most recently Kyrgyzstan's Tulip Revolution, civil
society and opposition parties have united against a dictator to
declare
“enough” to dictatorship, repression and subversion of the people’s
will. The situation in Kyrgyzstan mirrors ours in many ways:
“If unchallenged, last
month's elections would have cemented
(Kyrgyzstan President) Akayev's hold on
power. With the voting
rigged, his son and daughter both won seats in the new
Parliament,
along with a phalanx of corrupt cronies.” (Another
People’s
Revolt, Frank Brown, NBC, 27 March
2005).
It will take courage, strong
leadership, and creative mobilisation to challenge this dictator in ways other
than Parliamentary grand standing. But we know that if the MDC can rise to this
challenge, civil society and the majority of Zimbabweans will be behind
you.
The time is now. Stand UP
and take it. We are behind you.
We wish you strength and
wisdom in the time ahead.
Solidarity
Zvakwana - news@zvakwana.org - www.zvakwana.org
Sokwanele - sokwanele@sokwanele.com - www.sokwanele.com
It comes to me as a big
astonishment and shame for the residents of Unit D, Zengeza Constituency. They
seem to forget the pain and suffering they are going through. Almost 98% of the
youths are jobless and they continue supporting the regime which does not have
any care for the people. You see them wearing zanu pf t-shirts every day just
for a plate of sadza nematumbu ehuku chaiwo. Ngatimukei rushambanzou tinyadzise
zanu pf.
- Disgruntled, Daddy Dee, Chitungwiza
You
can’t be neutral on a moving train
In this world where the efforts
of caring people often pale in comparison to what is done by those who have
power, how do I manage to stay involved and seemingly happy? I am totally
confident not that the world will get better, but that we should not give up the
game before all the cards have been played. The metaphor is deliberate; life is
a gamble. Not to play is to foreclose any chance of winning. To play, to act, is
to create at least a possibility of changing the world. There is a tendency to
think that what we see in the present moment will continue. We forget how often
we have been astonished by the sudden crumbling of institutions, by
extraordinary changes in people's thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of rebellion
against tyrannies, by the quick collapse of systems of power that seemed
invincible.
Looking at this catalogue of
huge surprises, it's clear that the struggle for justice should never be
abandoned because of the apparent overwhelming power of those who have the guns
and the money and who seem invincible in their determination to hold on to it.
That apparent power has, again and again, proved vulnerable to human qualities
less measurable than bombs and dollars: moral fervour, determination, unity,
organization, sacrifice, wit, ingenuity, courage, and patience.
Revolutionary change does
not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware of such moments!) but as an endless
succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society. We don't
have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change.
Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. Even
when we don't "win," there is fun and fulfilment in the fact that we have been
involved, with other good people, in something worthwhile. We need hope. To be
hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact
that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion,
sacrifice, courage, and kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this
complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys
our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places--and there
are so many--where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy
to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in
a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have
to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of
presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of
all that is bad around us, is itself a marvellous victory.
- Howard
Zinn
Blog for freedom
What is a blog? A blog is simply an online diary – the word
blog derives from the term ‘web-log’.
Visit the Sokwanele blog by clicking
here. We have invited a network of blog contributors to join us. They are
based all around Zimbabwe, and come from all walks of life, and are ready to
share with us their thoughts, feelings and humour about life in Zimbabwe in the
run-up to Zimbabwe’s parliamentary elections. All of our contributors – or
bloggers – are committed, as we are, to the Sokwanele principles of achieving
peace and democracy in Zimbabwe through non-violent means. Blogging gives a
voice to the people. We know that not everyone has access to the Internet, or to
email, so we have asked our bloggers to report not only on their experiences,
but also on the stories they hear from other people. We are also aware that
security is a very big concern for people in Zimbabwe, especially when it comes
to telling the truth in a climate where free expression is restricted and
controlled, so we have made it possible for all of our bloggers to write for the
blog anonymously. Please circulate this message widely and invite other people
to subscribe to the Sokwanele mailing list. Visit www.sokwanele.com
Zvakwana, Sokwanele, Enough!!
Make sure
you SPEAK OUT - keep discussion alive, keep information flowing.
Please remember Zvakwana
welcomes feedback, ideas and support for actions.
Enough is enough,
Zvakwana, Sokwanele.
FinGaz
Zimbabwe decides
Nelson Banya
3/30/2005 8:23:35 AM (GMT +2)
ZIMBABWE'S sixth parliamentary
election gets underway tomorrow, amid
growing indications of a relatively
high voter turnout following a notable
decline in cases of violence and
intimidation, the bane of the country's
polls in the recent
past.
Although opinion remains divided over the extent of the
country's
compliance with regional electoral standards adopted by Southern
African
Development Community (SADC) heads of state and government in
Mauritius last
August, Zimbabwe has witnessed a significant drop in
political violence,
while opposition groups have been granted access to
public media and have
also managed to hold campaign rallies in areas
previously rendered
inaccessible by militant youths and war veterans aligned
to ZANU PF. The
ruling party, which is running on the "Anti-Blair" mantra,
has vowed to bury
the opposition and reclaim some seats it conceded to the
opposition party in
2000.
Although indications on the ground are
that it would be a very close
race, two opinion polls conducted by the Mass
Public Opinion Institute
(MPOI) and University of Zimbabwe academic Joseph
Kurebwa, widely seen as
sympathetic to the ruling party, have predicted a
ZANU PF victory.
The MPOI survey found that of the 46 percent decided
voters, 30
percent would vote for ZANU PF, while 16 percent would vote for
the MDC.
Although MPOI said the survey results had been affected by
uncertainty, at
the time, over the MDC's participation in tomorrow's
election, the institute
officials decline to divulge the results of another
recent poll, saying they
had been commissioned to do the survey "on behalf
of a private client."
An official who spoke to The Financial Gazette
yesterday could only
say the latest survey had registered a significant
change on the initial
findings.
Kurebga, whose survey has been
dismissed by the MDC as partisan,
yesterday defended his findings, which
show a string ZANU PF showing that
could see the ruling party getting its
desired two-thirds majority.
"They say our survey is partisan, but it
does show the inroads they
have made in some previous ZANU PF strongholds,
doesn't it? Anyway, we
expect political parties to say things like that, it
is the language of the
time, but our findings stand to be proved or
disproved by the election
results," Kurebga said.
The MDC, on the
other hand, is also upbeat about its chances, with
party president Morgan
Tsvangirai urging supporters across the country that
they should go out and
vote to "complete the process of change we started in
2000."
MDC
candidate for Harare Central, Murisi Zwizwai said his party
expected "an
overwhelming victory."
"We expect an overwhelming victory that will
push Zimbabwe out of the
current mess. The MDC will be the majority party,
making it possible for us
to push legislation through parliament that will
improve the lives of
ordinary Zimbabweans.
"We shall surprise ZANU
PF in Masvingo, Manicaland, the Midlands, in
Guruve, Shamva, Mutoko, Hwedza
and many other previous ZANU PF outposts in
Mashonaland and beyond," Zwizwai
said.
Lovemore Madhuku, whose National Constitutional Assembly (NCA)
recently produced a report alleging widespread violence and intimidation in
the run-up to the poll, discounted predictions of a high voter
turnout.
"There is no basis for that, in any case, the notion of voter
turnout,
where there are no percentages, could be subjective. I predict that
about 50
percent of the 5 million or so registered voters will turn out. Now
whether
that is high or not is subjective," Madhuku said.
He also
reiterated his sentiments that tomorrow's election would not
change
anything.
"The MDC will get about 50 seats or less. Optimism by the
parties is
fine, but is the two to three weeks of the MDC appearing on
television and
campaigning in areas they could not access previously going
to reverse five
years of repression and intimidation? There has been no
political activity
except in the past three or so weeks," Madhuku, whose NCA
insists that the
constitutional framework within which the elections are
being held is
flawed, said.
Tomorrow's election, set to be another
explosive and closely fought
affair between the two major parties- the
ruling ZANU PF and the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has,
like the last parliamentary
election five years ago and the presidential
poll two years later, attracted
global attention.
Apart from ZANU
PF and the MDC, the late Ndabaningi Sithole's ZANU and
up to fifteen
independent candidates, who have forged a loose coalition, are
contesting in
the poll. This is a far cry from the 560 plus candidates who
stood for
election in 2000.
The current campaign, which got off to a lethargic
start due to the
MDC's boycott threat, has gained momentum in recent weeks
after the
opposition party rescinded its decision and if crowds attending
the two
biggest parties' rallies are anything to go by, a respectable
percentage of
Zimbabwe's 5.6 million voters will turn up at the 8 772
polling stations
dotted around the country tomorrow.
Ballots will
now be cast in all 120 constituencies, after the courts
paved way for voting
the Chimanimani constituency, whose incarcerated Member
of Parliament Roy
Bennet of the MDC had initially succeeded in getting the
results of the
nomination court which sat on February 18 annulled. Bennet's
wife Heather
will now represent the MDC.
In 2000, the MDC almost shocked ZANU PF out
of power when it claimed
57 mainly urban seats, with the ruling party
winning in 62 constituencies
and ZANU retaining its sole seat.
Just
a few months prior to the June 2000 poll, the MDC and pressure
groups allied
to the opposition had engineered ZANU PF's first defeat at the
polls, in the
constitutional referendum which frustrated the ruling ZANU PF
government's
plans to introduce a new constitution which would, among other
provisions,
reintroduce the Prime Minister's office while retaining the
executive
presidency.
In this current campaign, ZANU PF has raised the stakes,
indicating it
was going all out for a two-thirds majority in order to push
through some
constitutional amendments, possibly the reintroduction of the
Prime
Minister's office and the creation of a Senate.
The MDC on
the other hand, has rolled up its sleeves to not only
thwart ZANU PF's quest
for the two-thirds majority in Parliament, but for an
outright victory which
would signal the end of ZANU PF's 25-year old hold on
power.
Despite facing an uphill task in this regard, given the fact that
President
Robert Mugabe has a constitutional prerogative to appoint 30
non-constituency Members of Parliament, the MDC is upbeat about its
chances.
Voting in the country's first single day election starts at
7am and
poling stations close at 7pm, with the counting of ballots starting
immediately after. All results are expected to be in by Saturday.
FinGaz
Police, army on high alert
Njabulo
Ncube
3/30/2005 8:24:55 AM (GMT +2)
THE government has put
the country's security agents on high alert to
quell any incidents of
violence triggered by the outcome of tomorrow's
parliamentary elections,
amid talk from both protagonists - the ruling ZANU
PF and the main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - of victory
in the
polls.
Government sources said the deployment of police and the
army had been
completed during the Easter holidays, while roadblocks manned
by heavily
armed personnel had been posted in all major highways.
They said the state would brook no nonsense from any political
supporter
during and after the elections.
Although the Zimbabwe National Army
spokesman could not immediately
disclose the actual number of soldiers
stationed on the ground, police
spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told The
Financial Gazette that the Zimbabwe
Republic Police (ZRP) had deployed a
strong force of 30 000 officers.
Bvudzijena said of the 30 000 officers
in and around the country, 24
000 were full officers while the remainder
were reservists.
"We are on very high alert," said Bvudzijena. "The
figure of 30 000
includes those officers and reservists posted at police
stations but the
majority is already at the polling stations in and around
the country," he
said.
"Officers are now firmly on the ground
following the deployments that
were made over the weekend. With these
developments everyone is assured of
safety and security as they go to vote
on Thursday. Let those with
intentions to disturb the peace on this
important day be warned that the ZRP
is prepared and will deal with them
firmly and in accordance with the law.
We encourage owners of any property
to secure it when they go and vote. On
our part, contingency plans have been
put in place to deal with everyday
criminality," he said.
George
Chiweshe, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(ZEC), revealed
last week that his organisation had established 8 222
polling stations.
Bvudzijena said each polling station would be under the
surveillance of
security officers to thwart any politically motivated
crimes.
The
army, airforce and the police yesterday held high-powered meetings
at the
police headquarters in Harare to put in place contingency plans in
the event
of "overzealous" party supporters disturbing the general peace
that has
prevailed in the run-up to the election.
Since January 1 2005 to
yesterday, the ZRP has recorded 153 cases of
politically related crimes by
both ZANU PF and the MDC. Bvudzijena said of
the 153 cases, ZANU PF
supporters had committed 75 while the remaining 78
were attributed to the
MDC.
The police spokesman reminded voters that it was an offence for
more
than 12 people to gather, canvass for votes, utter slogans, distribute
leaflets or pamphlets, organise or engage in public singing or dance and/or
use bands or loud speakers within a radius of 200 metres from a polling
station.
It is also an offence for anyone to obstruct any voter at
a polling
station or on his or her way to a polling station.
Since
January 2005, the MDC and ZANU PF have held a total of 2 555
rallies. ZANU
PF held 1 638 while the MDC has staged 876.
The MDC accuses the police
of cancelling its rallies while allowing
ZANU PF to meet, charges the ZRP
has denied.
FinGaz
Heads to roll after poll
Felix Njini
3/30/2005 8:25:55 AM (GMT +2)
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe, who has
hinted at quitting active politics at
the expiry of his sixth term in 2008,
is expected to resume his cleansing
act within ZANU PF and the government
after tomorrow's polls, starting with
the announcement of a new-look
Cabinet.
Constitutionally, according to legal experts, tomorrow's
poll will not
change the government.
"Mugabe can appoint the
Cabinet from the reserved 30 seats in the
unlikely event that the MDC wins
all the 120 seats being contested. It is
constitutional for Mugabe not to
appoint MDC members to Cabinet posts. This
boils down to what we have been
saying - that no election makes sense under
the current Constitution because
it won't change the government," said
National Constitutional Assembly
chairman Lovemore Madhuku.
President Mugabe, the veteran nationalist
who temporarily stopped the
purge within the fractious ruling party probably
fearing further splits
ahead of the parliamentary elections, is likely to
wield the axe on at least
three Cabinet ministers.
As part of the
Cabinet reshuffle, the 81-year-old leader will also
fill up posts left
vacant following the dismissal of former government
spin-doctor Jonathan
Moyo and the arrest in April last year of Finance
Minister Christopher
Kuruneri on allegations of externalising foreign
exchange and violating the
Citizenship Act.
The elevation of the country's first female
Vice-President, Joyce
Mujuru, to the presidium late last year also created a
gap within the Water
Resources Ministry.
Sources told The Financial
Gazette this week that President Mugabe,
who is eyeing a two-thirds majority
in tomorrow's tricky election, might
flush out once-trusted lieutenants
linked to the infamous Tsholotsho indaba
that has since claimed the scalps
of six provincial chairmen.
These include Energy and Power Development
Minister July Moyo and
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, who might escape
censure because of a
shortage of legal minds within ZANU PF and the fact
that he showed
contrition.
"He (President Mugabe) is aware that the
post-March 31 election
Cabinet is probably the last before the expiry of his
term of office.
Obviously, the thrust is to minimise fights and dissent,
which were quite
widespread in the current Cabinet. This is regardless of
the outcome of the
election," said the source.
"The grand plan is
to neutralise threats to his grip on power by
breaking the spinal cord of
those sympathetic to Speaker of Parliament
Emmerson Mnangagwa, the
(would-be) ultimate beneficiary of the Tsholotsho
meeting."
Ministers who fail to make the grade in the parliamentary race might
also
find it difficult to get places in the new look Cabinet. Those that
quickly
fell by the wayside in the ZANU PF primaries include Labour Minister
Paul
Mangwana and Industry and International Trade boss Samuel Mumbengegwi.
Ambassador Tichaona Jokonya is likely to be shafted into the Foreign
Affairs
Ministry, taking over from Stan Mudenge, who could be moved to a
less
influential ministry.
Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Herbert
Murerwa, who has been
the acting finance minister since April 2004, is
likely to replace Kuruneri,
who has been battling to secure his freedom
since April last year.
Olivia Muchena, the current Minister of Science
and Technology, could
replace Mujuru, while Webster Shamu is expected to be
moved from the
Ministry of Policy Implementation to the Information
Ministry.
The names of Mashonaland Central Governor Ephraim Masawi and
Rugare
Gumbo, the Minister responsible for parastatals, have also been
mentioned
among those tipped to replace Jonathan Moyo.
ZANU PF has
already banned from the party July Moyo, who was also
chairman of the
Midlands province, Jacob Mudenda (Matabeleland North),
Themba Ncube
(Bulawayo), Daniel Shumba (Masvingo), Lloyd Siyoka
(Matabeleland South) and
Mike Madiro (Manicaland) for attending the
unsanctioned Tsholotsho
meeting.
Jabulani Sibanda, the defiant leader of the war veterans
believed to
be close to Mnangagwa, was also suspended for four years.
Mnangagwa, long
touted as President Mugabe's heir apparent, has since been
relegated to a
lesser influential post of legal affairs secretary in ZANU
PF's supreme
decision-making body, the politburo.
Previously,
Mnangagwa was the secretary for administration.
FinGaz
The day ZIYA stole ZTV's Happison show (A personal
comment)
Mavis Makuni
3/30/2005 8:27:37 AM (GMT
+2)
You are an interviewer but the interviewee turns the tables and
starts
firing questions at you instead. What do you do?
This is
the unusual situation television anchors Happison Muchechetere
and Robson
Mhandu had to contend with during an episode of the political
discussions
aired by Zimbabwe Television in the run up to the parliamentary
elections on
March 31.
The episode featured two representatives from the obscure
Zimbabwe
Youth Association, one of the political groups that "mushroomed"
overnight
after it was announced that in line with the Southern Africa
Development
Community (SADC) Protocol on Democratic Elections all political
parties
fielding candidates would be allocated air time on television and
radio.
The broadcast was hilarious from start to finish. The two
"youths"
were featured after appearances on the same programme by
heavyweights from
the main political parties such as Herbert Murerwa of
ZANU-PF, Tendai Biti,
Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mush-onga and Professor
Welshman Ncube of the
Movement for Demo-cratic Change (MDC) and some
independents. I must confess
that my initial reaction was to switch off my
television, reckoning that it
was not worth my while to watch a couple of
lightweights whose participation
would not make an iota of a
difference.
In any event, I wondered how they would cope with
relentless
interrogation by the media practitioners, who had previously gone
all out to
verbally ambush more articulate and experienced
candidates.
I must say I am pleased that I decided in the end to watch
the
discussion. Apart from enabling me to experience the most rib-cracking
laughter in a very long time, the episode taught me a number of political
lessons.
The first and most obvious is never to judge a book by its
cover.
What the two ZIYA representatives lacked in sophistication and
depth,
they more than made up for in fearlessness and conviction.
They were quite clear what their perceived grievances were and would
not be
verbally pushed into a corner by the aggressive and prosecutor-like
line of
questioning by Muchechetere.
They told it like it is and proved that
you do not need to parrot
tired political rhetoric to make your point! They
were so genuine and
sincere that even when they did not have the foggiest
idea what a question
meant, they still answered it with heartfelt
conviction.
They were at their best when they threw questions back at
Mhandu and
Muche-chetere, who found themselves on the defensive.
At
one point when he was challenged for refusing to accept something
that was
self-evident as far as the ZIYA representatives were concerned,
Mu-chechetere was obliged to cool things down by confessing without being
asked, that he was a war veteran.
For a moment, I thought the
journalist had opened himself up to more
trouble. I was sure the next
question he would be asked was whether he was
moderating the discussion as a
journalist or a war veteran. Fortunately,
they let him off the hook without
further ado.
As the gripping discussion progressed, I found myself
thinking that it
would be far better to have these rough gems who call a
spade a spade than
slick politicians who are experts at playing the game of
trying to be all
things to all men.
The no-holds- barred approach
adopted by the youth representatives
proved beyond doubt that the skirting
around issues that characterises most
political interviews on television and
other media is totally uncalled for.
I have no problem with journalists
asking tough, probing but objective
questions.
Any politician worth
his salt should be able and willing to face
grilling by the media. I find it
hard to accept however, when media
practitioners show bias by asking certain
politicians leading and subjective
questions designed to enable them to
weave an elaborate web of deceit,
untruths and half-truths.
It is a
disservice to the listening public for an interviewer to align
him or
herself with a guest. After all, the interviewer represents the
listener or
viewer and should facilitate a balanced exchange.It is equally
unacceptable
for a moderator or interviewer to be so hostile as to verbally
bludgeon an
interviewee into submission to unfair and untrue pre-conceived
ideas and
accusations.
Blatant bias results in the creation of an erroneous
impression that
public officials constitute a body of experts possessing
unusual skills and
intelligence. Some lines of questioning that have been
seen on ZTV are
designed to convey the message that because of his
inadequacy and lack of
expertise, the voter should surrender all his power
to the all-knowing
incumbents.
The point that has to be made is
that the performance of the ZIYA
representatives demonstrated beyond doubt
that one does not need intricate
technical knowledge to identify national
objectives that cater for the
interests of all.. As the song goes, it takes
different strokes to move the
world! In the context of political discourse
in Zimbabwe, who can deny that
in any controversial situation, the more
voices expounding and expressing
opinions the better?
A country,
after all, is the sum total of its people - mavericks,
flamboyant characters
and eccentrics should all be allowed to enrich the
country's political
traditions.
The opening up of the airwaves that has been allowed in the
run-up to
the parliamentary elections should become a permanent feature so
as to
expose the electorate to diverse opinions all the time. This can only
lead
to political maturity all round.
FinGaz
Stranded polling officers redeployed
Felix
Njini
3/30/2005 8:29:16 AM (GMT +2)
THE more than 800
polling officers barred from covering elections in
Mudzi and Kotwa, were
yesterday being re-deployed in various polling centres
despite demands by
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that
they be send back
to Mudzi.
The re-deployment also comes amid increasing concern over
the calibre
of polling officers in Mudzi and Kotwa, areas where the polling
officers,
mainly school teachers from Harare were chased away.
Some
of the outraged polling officers who spoke to the Financial
Gazette
yesterday said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) forked out
over $300
million in allowances for the stranded polling officers, who were
bussed to
and from Mudzi, one of ZANU PF's strongholds.
Frantic efforts by ZEC
officials to re-deploy the polling officers
come when some international
observer missions have started querying the
institution's handling of the
situation and the involvement of ZANU PF
aligned officials in choosing their
preferred polling officers.
Recounting their experience, the polling
officers, who have been
camped at Queen Elizabeth School since Sunday, said
they were ferried to
Mudzi in ZUPCO buses and open trucks, only to be told
on arrival that, they
could not run the elections since they were coming
from Harare".
"We slept outside government offices where we had been
dumped. We were
later addressed by a police officer who told us to go back
to Harare, saying
he had been given a directive to turn us back," said one
of the polling
officers.
Election monitors and observers fear that
the turning away of trained
polling officers could see the election being
run by ruling party aligned
officers.
"We were categorically told
that people from Harare are not welcome to
conduct elections in Mudzi," said
one Harare based schoolteacher.
"The local leadership there said
conducting elections was a job, which
had been reserved for locals, they
accused us of coming from Harare to take
their children's jobs," he
added.
The MDC, which is battling it out with ZANU PF in tomorrow's
decisive
parliamentary polls allege that the ruling party played a hand in
turning
away the polling officers, accused of being MDC supporters.
"We challenge ZEC to prove that it is in charge by ensuring that all
the
polling officers are sent back to Mudzi East to run the elections. We
believe that the usual ZANU PF machinery, which will conduct the elections
is geared to rig the poll and steal the people's vote," fumed MDC secretary
general Welshman Ncube.
"How does one explain a situation in which
the District
Administrator's office, an institution, which has nothing to do
with the
running of elections can make such a decision as sending back
polling
officers who have been deployed by the commission?" Ncube
asked.
FinGaz
Council to spoil Makwavarara?
Staff
Reporter
3/30/2005 8:30:33 AM (GMT +2)
THE Harare City
Council might splash over $1 billion on furnishing the
lavish Gunhill
mansion which is now occupied by political turncoat and
commission boss
Sekesai Makwavarara, The Financial Gazette learnt this week.
Sources at Town House, the administrative centre for the city, said
the
commission running the affairs of the council is mulling coughing out $1
billion of ratepayer's money towards the curtaining and furnishing of the
controversial mansion.
This is despite the collapse of service
delivery in the capital, once
touted as the African continent's "sunshine
city".
Council workers riled by the planned spending told The Financial
Gazette this week that the council, operating on a shoestring budget, cannot
afford the luxury at a time when it has sometimes failed to pay them their
salaries on time.
Infrastructure in the capital city has virtually
collapsed, they said,
as dramatised by the burst water and sewer pipes,
potholes in city roads,
uncollected refuse and the failing public lighting
system.
Ironically Makwa-varara and the Local Government Minister
Ignatius
Chombo have berated dismissed executive mayor Elias Mudzuri's
administration
of extravagant spending council on things such as sugar, soap
and drinks.
"All this is happening at a time council is failing to meet
its wages
bill," said an insider.
Contacted this week for comment,
council spokesman Leslie Gwindi
scoffed, "We are not in the business of
commenting on issues to do with
petticoats."
Makwavarara, riding
high on the crest of ZANU PF patronage, following
her defection from the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change, has also
ordered the Town
Council's chief legal officer, a Mrs Dangwa out of her
Highlands house,
which is council property, for unexplained reasons.
Nomutsa Chideya,
the town clerk, switched off his mobile when
contacted for comment.
"She (Makwavarara) is now evicting the chief legal officer at Town
House
from her council house because we suspect that she wants the house
renovated
by council as a matter of urgency. The question is why now when
she is
already occupying the official mayoral residence", said the source.
FinGaz
Comment
Stand up and be counted
3/30/2005 8:31:25 AM (GMT +2)
Well this is it Zimbabwe - the week
that defines the future of this
great nation. This is the time for every
Zimbabwean to show that exceptional
personal responsibility by exercising
their inalienable suffrage at
tomorrow's Parliamentary poll.
There is no need to be apprehensive about this election whatsoever,
for
there is a sea change in this country's political culture. In perhaps
the
most decisive rupture with the past, Zimbabweans have this time around
shown
a rare degree of political maturity underlined by growing tolerance
for
political opponents and minimal, if any, confrontation even as the
politicians were girding their loins for political high stakes.
It
is indeed a breath of fresh air, to note that in the run up to the
election
day, there has not been systematic bullying, intimidation and the
orgy of
violence, raping and maiming of innocent people as was the case when
political attack dogs were in the past unleashed on opponents, creating a
crisis of public confidence in the country's electoral process.
We
have to be unstinting in our praise of Zimbabweans for such a
pleasantly
surprising peaceful election campaign. People should therefore
leave their
homes in droves to go and cast their votes to further the
democratisation
and expansion of political pluralism - so that the country's
nascent
democratic dispensation can emerge the winner. As has been said
before, to
reach a port we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes
against it.
But we must not drift or lie at anchor. In this case, no
Zimbabwean can
afford to be neutral. Your voice has to be heard, loud and
clear whichever
political horse you are betting on. Apathy is the greatest
enemy. It would
be a gross error of judgment on the part of those who do not
vote because
the flip side of this is that they will be voting for what they
do not
like.
Be that as it may, we are not here going to tell Zimbabwe which
party
to vote for. Suffice it to say that experience shows that the more
high-falutin phrases and empty declarations a political manifesto contains -
the less real content it has. Sadly both the manifestos of the ruling ZANU
PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change have such phrases that
promise the proverbial pie in the sky. This tends to muddy the waters
insofar as clarity of vision, mission and objectives of each party are
concerned.
That is why we feel that voters should go beyond the
politicians'
populist phraseology and do some soul-searching as regards the
party that
stands for the interests of the nation because therein lie the
people's
interests too. It is important for the electorate to note that
despite
self-serving veils of altruism, motivations for aspiring for
political
office are as varied as the people that seek it. Infact, less
altruistic
motives predominate. Blind faith and impetuosity could therefore
lead people
into further difficulties.
That Zimbabwe is in a state
of siege, joblessness is on the rise and
that there is a deep well of
disenchantment given the socio-economic
difficulties, is beyond argument.
The ruins must not however obstruct the
prospects because we don't believe
our needle is well and truly stuck. There
is hope for Zimbabwe. The economic
fortunes of the country can still be
turned around with a consistent
implementation of sound policies.
It is therefore imperative for
Zimbabweans, as they prepare to cast
their ballots to understand how this
siege came about. Our modest and humble
submission is that while there
understandably is no consensus on the reasons
behind the country's crisis,
it can largely be concluded that land-related
issues are at the core of
Zimbabwe's woes today.
Be it concerns over Law and Order issues, the
violence that
traumatised the nation and left disenfranchised families with
emotional
scars, high country risk ratings which really reflect perceptions
as regards
the country's economic well-being, international isolation that
has seen
balance of payments drying up, donor stand-off, low investment,
adverse
publicity and matters concerning the independence of the judiciary
were all
touched off by the land question. Problems with the past immediate
Supreme
Court bench arose because contrary to popular belief, jurisprudence
is not a
colourless or neutral science, which is why even the colonial
bench,
expounding and articulating the same Roman Dutch principles applied
today,
justified settler capitalist expropriation of Zimbabwean land and its
judgments were called justice.
What is clear is that to a large
extent the problems besetting
Zimbabwe can be traced back to the land reform
programme, which to all
intents and purposes is now irreversible. A darling
of the Western world
whose political yardstick changes with changing
interests, Zimbabwe became a
target of bitter attacks from Western
governments around the same time the
fast track land reform started. Almost
overnight, the country transformed
into a land of contagion, shunned by
investors, international bankers,
donors and financiers, soon after the
government which hitherto had been
revving its engine without moving into a
higher gear, embarked on its fast
track land reform.
Zimbabwe needs
no reminding of the hue and cry raised by the emotive
land issue both from
the domestic and international community. It raised
partisan shots from both
sides of the aisle indicating disagreements over
the form, style and
approach of the process. As we said in one of our
editorial comments
recently, some critics said it was wrong, while others
argued government
should have tried to strike a balance between legal
security and economic
flexibility in order to provide the optimum
opportunity to achieve the
objectives of the land reform. However both
proponents and critics of the
land reform acknowledge its historical
validity as well as the folly and
hopelessness of any failure to address the
issue.
And so it is the
same land issue, which should therefore form part of
any attempt to deal
with the multitude of the country's deep-seated
problems. Be it MDC or ZANU
PF, Zimbabweans should go for the party that, in
their minds, has flexible,
courageous and evolutionising politicians who
have the capacity to ride the
next wave and systematically polish up the
land reform programme, follow it
up with technical supervision and support
so as to ensure overall success of
the land reform programme and return the
country's agriculture to its
pre-crisis levels. The party should have the
capacity to come up with a
triumphant response to the challenges that lie
ahead insofar as the land
question - in which the international community
has shown a lot of interest
as can be typified by the Land Donor Conference
of 1998 - is concerned.
After all is said and done, everything else will
definitely fall in place.
The significance to the economy of agriculture,
which previously had the
biggest sectoral contribution to the country's
gross domestic product,
cannot be over-emphasised. Good luck Zimbabwe.
FinGaz
And now to the Notebook . . .
3/30/2005
8:09:10 AM (GMT +2)
Rule of law?
So after the Great
Uncle himself insulted an Administrative Court
ruling on an appeal by jailed
opposition Movement for Democratic Change
member of Parliament Roy Bennett
against the rejection of his nomination
papers, the court which had allowed
a thoroughly violated citizen to have
his right to vote and be voted for,
suddenly changed its mind and ruled that
he can no longer enjoy this
right?
Would there be anything wrong if CZ, or any other
progressive Zimbo
see this as unwarranted interference by the executive arm
of government in
the operations of the judiciary? CZ is suggesting that the
Great Uncle
unduly used his influence to secure a court ruling favourable to
his party
ZANU PF. This is uncouth . . . he threatened the judge in
question. No
wonder the same judge ended up disagreeing with his own
ruling!
So where is the rule of law here? In a normal democratic
set-up,
someone should be up on contempt of court . . . ask big-mouthed
Patrick
China-masa!
If only . . .
Zimbos tomorrow vote to
choose which politicians to have the privilege
of dozing off in the august
house. All candidates will be expecting to do
better than their opponents
and CZ wishes them all the best in their
endeavours.
If only Zimbos
were a politically mature people, this was the time to
bury our differences
and possibly try to work together for a much brighter
future. Yes, it is
very true that we might not like each other, or agree
with each other - we
are not required to that just for the sake of it - but
sometimes it is
better to pretend we like each other for a common good.
This election
is an election with a difference. It is frighteningly
peaceful. This is not
what we have been used to, so we get scared. Imagine a
violent father
suddenly coming back from a beer drink and remaining quiet
and peaceful.The
children would be scared.
The peace that is prevailing now is something
to worry about, isn't
it? It all goes a long way to show how much leaders of
political parties are
responsible for whatever happens in elections. All the
violence that we have
seen in the past was because the ZANU PF leadership,
which had panicked at
the prospect of handing over power, told its war
veterans, youths, police,
army etc to beat up people and that nothing was
going to happen to them as
patriots. Remember stories about B Sc. Violence?
And what followed was
bloodshed and untold terrorisation of the people.
Because this time ZANU PF
is more confident of winning the elections, its
leadership saw no reason to
terrorise people, hence the relative peace we
have today.
Now if only the political leadership of this country took
advantage of
this prevailing peace to please extend the olive branch to the
other side
and try to work together for a better Zimbabwe. I don't think
there is any
Zimbo in his right mind who would not want to live in a better
Zimbabwe, is
there?
CZ believes the Great Uncle has finally
accepted there is an
opposition that has a considerable following in this
country. A real big
following that is even threatening the continued
existence of his party!
Suppose the MDC wins say 40 percent of all seats in
the next parliament,
what would be wrong if he picks 40 percent of his next
Cabinet from the MDC?
Shortfalls notwithstanding, there are some really
brilliant brains in
the ranks of the MDC and why does Zimbabwe have to wait
until the party
becomes a ruling party (if ever) for it to tap this
resource?
There are people really better than the Mades of our present
government and should individuals' parochial and selfish interests come
before common good?
Or the Great Uncle simply inviting Morgan for a
breakfast meeting to
discuss areas of common interest . . . what would be
wrong with that? Would
any of the sides lose anything from just behaving
like civilised Africans?
They all know that all the trash they say about
each other is just mere
trash.without any substance in it.so that should not
preclude them from
putting this country first. PLEASE!
Policeese
Has anyone out there bothered to notice that the esteemed
members of
our police force have perfected their own special type of English
for easy
use when dealing with ordinary "members of the public?"
Ever listened to what most police chiefs and spokesmen will actually
be
saying in their Policeese when they appear on our TV screen "to encourage
members of the public that the professional force is more than just geared
up to deal with any forms of malcontent behavioural manifestations that may
arise.blah blah," or something to that effect. Has anyone really bothered to
decipher what our very professional colleagues would be dying to put
across?
More often than not, they end up saying a lot but literally
nothing.
Last week there was this one from none other than the ZRP chief Cde
Augustine Chihuri himself: "We (police) have personally written to Madhuku
to come forward and validate the claims in the report.blah blah!"
Ever heard about investigations in a grievously bodily harm case
involving
the use of unknown sharp object in the beheading of a victim's
left hand . .
. people who are arrested driving under the undue influence of
yet unknown
but dangerous alcoholic substance?
When our radio and TV morning travel
and traffic reports were
introduced you could hear an officer advising the
motoring public that there
is a broken down bus "standing" between this and
that street . . . that the
"robot at the intersection of this and that road
is in bad working order.
Remember?
Investigations are still in
process!
FinGaz
Two-thirds majority win is what ZANU PF is aiming
at
Marume Jeya
3/30/2005 8:05:01 AM (GMT +2)
It is a foregone conclusion that ZANU PF will definitely win the
simple
majority vote considering that the Zimbabwean constitution determines
that
voters elect only 120 of the 150 parliamentary seats, while President
Robert
Mugabe handpicks 30. As such, the main challenge facing the ruling
party is
to garner the two-thirds majority vote.
A two- thirds majority win
by ZANU PF has several political and legal
implications.
The
current political dispensation in the country has seen the ruling
party
encountering internal and external forces that will be eliminated by a
two-thirds majority win.
What are the internal challenges facing
the ruling party? It is clear
the ruling party has of late been experiencing
infighting as aptly captured
by the succession struggle that culminated in
the Tsholotsho debacle. It
appears the succession issue has triggered an
ethnic dimension in our
political equation.
The "Karanga" and
"Manyika" groups are fighting for political space
within the ruling party
power structure. Although the Tsholotsho factor has
apparently simmered
down, it will probably rear its head again in the near
future because the
political stakes are high.
In some political circles the "Kenyan or
Rainbow" scenario is already
being suggested as a possible political reality
in our polity.
It is argued that some significant political gladiators
from the
ruling party might join forces with the opposition and civil
society and
fight the ZANU PF establishment. In politics anything is
possible, as there
are no permanent enemies but permanent
interests.
This has happened before in Zambia, when the United National
Independence Party (UNIP) was ousted by the Movement for Multi-party
Democracy (MMD). A similar situation occurred in Malawi when the Malawi
Congress Party (MCP) was defeated by combined forces of opposition and
former ruling party officials.
Given the foregoing it is imperative
for the ruling party to garner
the two-thirds majority vote in order to
effect major constitutional
amendments that will appease various political
forces within ZANU PF.
Already, President Mugabe has suggested the creation
of a Senate.
The Senate will certainly accommodate senior and young
politicians
from various "disgruntled" groups. This upper house is an
appropriate
sanctuary or rather retirement home for the ruling party's old
guard. Thus,
the Senate will house the old and wise and conversely
Parliament or lower
house will accommodate the young and clever. In such a
situation there will
be a proper mix of continuity and change within the
ruling party power
structures. Obvious candidates for the senate are the
likes of Dumiso
Dabengwa, Mudhumeni Chivende, Naison Ndlovu, Nathan
Shamuyarira, Thenjiwe
Lesabe, Victoria Chitepo (if as expected she loses the
current race for
parliament and rehabilitated suspended "chairmen".
Surely, a Senate will minimise conflicts and the fights between the
"old
guard" and the so called "young turks". Furthermore this will certainly
keep
the ruling party together considering the mess that occurred during the
primary elections which resulted in many popular candidates being sidelined
through party restrictions.
Another political instrument that can
be effected if ZANU PF wins the
two-thirds majority is the creation of the
Office of Prime Minister. The
creation of such a powerful position will
certainly assist the ruling party
in its ethnic balancing or power
restructuring.
The balancing is important because the political career
of President
Mugabe is nearing its end. He has already expressed his wish to
retire at
the end of his current term. It is therefore almost definite that
Mugabe
will not run in 2008 considering that his political soulmates have
already
voluntarily left office. Sam Nunjoma of Namibia left just yesterday,
Mahathir Mohammed of Malaysia and Joachim Chissano (best man at his wedding
with wife Grace) readily come to mind.
A proper power balancing
formula backed by a two-thirds majority will
certainly ensure an honourable
exit for Mugabe and a smooth transition.
As pointed out earlier, the
Tsholotsho factor is a serious internal
contradiction that needs proper
"management". Suspending and firing party
cadres and officials will only
open wounds. After all the Tsholotsho
beneficiaries had the support of six
provinces. Some say seven! Wow!
The two-thirds majority advantage might
be used by the ruling party or
President Mugabe himself, to amend the
constitution to include political
safeguards. The "Mwanawasa" or is it
"Mutharika" factor will certainly
prompt President Mugabe to effect
safeguards in order to protect himself
from possible impeachment or
indictment from future "hostile" parliaments or
successors.
From an
international angle, a two-thirds majority win will certainly
show the
international community that the ruling ZANU PF is unassailable and
the only
way to deal with it is engagement. Already there is a strong
feeling within
and without Zimbabwe that the MDC is a poor, incapable and
dangerous
alternative. Trevor Ncube's recent analysis in local and regional
newspapers
is very instructive. It is believed that some backers of the MDC
have since
lost confidence with the MDC and are now looking at influencing
reform in
Zanu PF itself.
If ZANU PF attains the two-thirds majority margin, the
abandoned
intra-party talks will be revived or even direct talks between the
ruling
party and the opposition's western backers will start. Already
indicators to
such a scenario are apparent. The United States and the United
Kingdom have
since withdrawn their "regime change" ambassadors Joseph
Sullivan and Brian
Donnelly and put in place more affable ambassadors. This
indicates the US
and Britain are willing to talk. So far, the hard talk
against President
Mugabe and his government is coming from the State
Department and the US
ambassador to South Africa, Jenday Fraser. The US
ambassador to Zimbabwe
Chris Dell seems be pursuing a more cautious approach
and is even heaping
praise on the government's economic reforms as he did
recently in an
interview on ZTV's Talking Business with Supa.
Furthermore, if ZANU PF wins the two- thirds majority, it will
strengthen
its support base within Africa and in SADC specifically. Major
backers of
Zimbabwe like Thabo Mbeki will have more arsenal in defending
Harare and
ensuring that Zimbabwe's rift with the international community is
solved.
It is clear that the ruling ZANU PF needs the two-thirds
majority
vote. For ZANU PF this election is about winning the two-thirds
majority.
With the two-thirds majority in its bag, it will be able to manage
its
internal contradictions, a smooth and dignified exit for President
Mugabe
and the hostile international forces.
Thursday's vote
certainly means more than just winning!
lMarume Jeya is a Harare-based
political scientist.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
No vote for thousands
Mirror
Reporter
issue date :2005-Mar-30
THOUSANDS of polling officers, mostly
teachers, are unlikely to vote in
tomorrow's crucial parliamentary polls
after being deployed outside their
constituencies, The Daily Mirror has
learnt.
However, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) quickly allayed
fears that
Zimbabwe's sixth general elections had hit a snag, suggesting
that all
affected civil servants could cast their votes via postal
balloting.
Utloile Silaigwana, the ZEC spokesperson said: "There is a
possibility of a
postal ballot for all civil servants that would be on such
duties."
While the exact number of teachers affected could not immediately be
established yesterday, the main opposition MDC yesterday claimed that an
estimated 50 000 teachers would not vote due to logistical problems.
Said
MDC spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi: "Over 50 000 polling officers,
most of
them teachers, will not be able to cast their vote in the March 31
parliamentary elections because they have been deployed outside their
constituencies. This vindicates our position that the regime had not made
adequate preparations to ensure a free and fair election, a position which
the regime has always denied."
The MDC argued that teachers, like the
uniformed forces, must exercise their
full democratic rights to elect
legislative representatives of their choice
as enshrined in the Zimbabwe
constitution through the postal ballot system.
Nyathi also suggested an ideal
situation should have seen the concerned
teachers being deployed in
constituencies they are registered to vote in.
"The teachers should have been
deployed within the constituencies in which
they are registered to vote, or
they should also have been accorded the
opportunity to cast their vote using
the postal ballot as has been done with
members of the uniformed forces," he
said.
Yesterday, ZEC - the responsible authority for deploying polling
officers
among other duties - hinted at the possibility of the postal ballot
for the
affected civil servants.
But ZEC pointed out that the onus was
with those officers deployed out of
their constituencies to apply for the
facility.
"It was up to the individual to apply for postal voting but the
deadline for
that facility was March 20 and some applications are being
processed. We
have already sent ballot papers to members of the army, police
and Foreign
Affairs (embassies)," he said.
Silaigwana added: "We cannot
say anyone was denied the right to vote because
we do not know whether that
person had registered to vote in the first place
and as such, it would be
misleading to say they were supposed to vote but
were denied."
So far, he
said, ZEC had received no complaints from the polling officers
who had
allegedly been disfranchised.
Silaigwana described some media reports that
soldiers had already voted as
unfortunate and misleading.
"We only sent
out postal ballots to those that applied, but no one has voted
as yet," he
said.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
Independent chickens out
From Pamenus Tuso
in Bulawayo
issue date :2005-Mar-30
BULAWAYO South constituency
independent candidate in tomorrow's crucial
parliamentary polls, Alderman
Charles Mpofu, has chickened out of the race.
Mpofu, who was poised to battle
it out with MDC legal affairs secretary
David Coltart and the Minister of
Small Scale and Medium Enterprises
Development Sithembiso Nyoni of Zanu PF,
dropped the bombshell here
yesterday.
In a letter addressed to the
Registrar Secretary's office a copy of which is
in The Daily Mirror's
possession, Mpofu said he decided to pull out after
consulting with his
campaigning team and advisors.
The MDC city councillor's letter read in part:
"I have considered a number
of factors surrounding the elections and had
consultations with my campaign
committee and our advisors. We have come up
with a decision to withdraw from
the race for reasons basically known to
us."
Reached for comment yesterday, Mpofu declined to explain his reasons for
throwing in the towel at the last minute. He becomes the third
parliamentary candidate to pull out of the race following last week's
withdrawal by Zanu PF Matabeleland South chairman and independent candidate
for Beitbridge, Lloyd Siyoka and Ottilia Maluleke in Chiredzi
North.
Siyoka is said to have succumbed to mounting pressure from ruling
party
bigwigs in the province to tow the party line while Maluleke has
thrown her
weight behind Zanu PF candidate Celine Pote.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
Madhuku faces prosecution
Mirror
Reporter
issue date :2005-Mar-30
POLICE are still studying the
controversial National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA) document alleging a
violent pre-election environment in Zimbabwe with
a view to prosecuting its
chairman Lovemore Madhuku.
With the general elections - which both the
governing Zanu PF and main
opposition MDC have predicted victory - due
tomorrow, chief police
spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena told a news conference
in Harare yesterday
that police patience with Madhuku was fast fading.
He
said: "We are still studying his document. Our position is clear that it
is
false. We gave him sufficient time and treated him as a citizen with a
moral
obligation to assist us, but he was not forthcoming. We are studying
the
document with a strong view to prosecute."
The damning NCA report alleged
among other charges, participation of the
uniformed forces in politically
motivated violence, rape, and murder and
forced school closures.
Last
Wednesday, Madhuku snubbed a police invitation to a news conference to
substantiate his claims arguing he was not a journalist and had no
obligation to furnish them with the evidence.
Police gave him until last
Thursday to validate his allegations, but the
deadline expired without the
constitutional lawyer forthcoming.
Madhuku maintains, legally, he is not
obliged to endorse his claims.
Meanwhile, 146 MDC supporters were arrested on
Sunday returning from a star
rally addressed by Morgan Tsvangirai at
Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield.
Bvudzijena said the opposition backers were
apprehended at the intersection
of Harare Road and Simon Mazorodze Road in
Mbare. They had since paid $25
000 guilty fines for breaching the
Miscellaneous Offences Act.
"The supporters, along the way, shouted and
ridiculed others resulting in
their arrest more than six kilometres from the
rally venue," Bvudzijena
said.
Outgoing MDC Harare Central MP and
candidate for the constituency Murisi
Zwizwai was picked up by police,
cautioned and released on March 24 after
his supporters allegedly disrupted
traffic along Nelson Mandela Street.
Zwizwai had addressed them at the
Quality International Hotel in the city
centre.
Since Friday last week,
police have recorded 18 more politically related
cases allegedly committed
by Zanu PF supporters compared to 12 misdeeds by
the MDC supporters.
The
latest report brings to 153 cases committed by both parties since
January 1,
2005. The MDC committed 78 offences to Zanu PF's 75.
Yesterday, police
assured the nation that peace and tranquillity will
prevail during and after
the election.
"Officers are now on the ground following the weekend's
deployments. With
these deployments, everyone is assured of safety and
security as they go to
vote on Thursday, March 31, 2005," Bvudzijena
said.
Meanwhile, the police have urged the public to return to their
respective
homes soon after voting arguing that if people cluster at polling
stations,
this could cause disturbances.
Said Bvudzijena: "Some political
leaders and candidates are urging their
supporters to remain at the polling
stations after casting their votes on
Thursday.the so called vigils are
attempts at disturbing the peace and
everyone is strongly warned against
participating in illegal activities.
"Members of the public are reminded of
the provisions of the Electoral Act
(Chapter 2: 13) and Public Order and
Security Act (POSA) (Chapter 11: 17)."
The top cop went on: "We would like to
make it very clear that in terms of
Section 62 of the Electoral Act, it is
only the presiding officer and such
polling officers, monitors and observers
besides the candidates and election
agents for each candidate who are
allowed to be present at the counting of
votes."
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
Election watch
issue date
:2005-Mar-30
Zanu PF Harare THE ruling party held campaign meetings in
the province on
March 25 addressed by the respective candidates for the
constituencies at
the following venues: Dunkorths Farm Primary School in
Harare South
addressed by Hubert Nyanhongo; Budiriro 2 Flats open ground in
Budiriro
addressed by David Makufa;
Gwenyambira Shopping Centre in
Mufakose addressed by Sabina Thembani;
Machipisa Shopping Centre in
Highfield addressed by Roderick Nyandoro;
Kuwadzana Home Industries in
Kuwadzana addressed by David Mutasa; Glen Norah
Stadium in Glen Norah
addressed by Victoria Chitepo; Zengeza 2 Open Ground
in ST Mary's addressed
by Patrick Nyaruwata and High Street Open Ground in
Mabvuku/Tafara addressed
by Pamela Tungamirai. The major theme in the
addresses was the revival of
service deliveries by council since the last
five years of MDC
representation has seen their rapid decline. The
candidates also chronicled
the achievements of their party in the past 25
years as explained in their
party election manifesto.
Masvingo
Zanu PF held campaign meetings on
March 26 at the following venues in the
province; Gaths Mine Stadium in
Masvingo North constituency addressed by the
party's candidate Stan Mudenge;
at Tshovani Stadium in Chiredzi North the
meeting was addressed by Celine
Pote the party's candidate as well as
National Chairman John Nkomo and in
the Uzeze Area of Masvingo Central the
meeting was addressed by Shylet
Uyoyo, the party's candidate. At the
Masvingo Central meeting, 23 MDC
members led by two brothers, (names
withheld) defected to Zanu PF. Members
of the Sadc observer team also
attended the meeting. In Chiredzi Celine Pote
urged party supporters to
report anyone provoking violence to the police.
She predicted a resounding
victory for Zanu PF throughout the
country.
Mashonaland Central
The ruling party held seven campaign
meetings in the province at the
following venues: Murembe Secondary School,
Shirikadzi Business centre,
Matepatepa Sports Club and Batanai Hall in
Bindura constituency addressed by
candidate Elliot Manyika; at Kajakata
Business Centre and Mugagau in Shamva
constituency the meeting was
addressed by candidate Nicholas Goche and at
Chahwanda business centre in Mt
Darwin South addressed by the party's
candidate Saviour Kasukuwere.
In
Bindura, Manyika blasted the opposition MDC for serving imperialist
purposes
and seeking to reverse the gains of independence. He urged party
supporters
to defeat the enemy once and for all.
MDC
Mashonaland West
The MDC held
four campaign rallies on March 26 and 27 in the province at the
following
places; Kapfunde Business Centre in Hurungwe West the meeting was
addressed
by the party's candidate Godfrey Gumbo and at Donain Shopping
Centre in
Ngezi the meeting was addressed by Flora Hotyo, the party's
candidate for
the constituency. The general theme in the addresses by the
two candidates
centred on blasting economic problems currently facing the
country. They
promised that an MDC government would bring back donors and
an end to
sanctions. They also promised to give land back to former white
owners.
Matabeleland South
The opposition party on March 26 held
five campaign meetings in the
province at the following venues: Gampo and
Matshinge business centres in
Bulilima constituency addressed by out going
legislator Moses Mzila Ndlovu;
at Matshemhlope and Mambale business centre
in Mangwe constituency addressed
by the candidate for the area Edward Mkosi
Moyo and at Tshapfuche dip tank
in Beitbridge constituency addressed by
Murumwa Siphuma, the party's
candidate. Siphuma urged the people to vote
for the MDC, promising that the
opposition party will bring better lives for
them. He alleged that the Zanu
PF government has failed the people in the
past 25 years of independence.
Mashonaland East
The MDC candidate for
Marondera East Ian Kay held two campaign rallies on
March 26 at Dombotombo
bus terminus and at Marondera Rural District Council
offices. Kay urged the
people to vote the MDC, which he said would restore
economic prosperity by
engaging the western countries. He added that if he
wins the elections, he
would ensure that enough jobs are created for the
unemployed in his
constituency.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
Observers to submit reports before final
results
Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-Mar-30
ALL local and
foreign observers should submit their preliminary election
reports to the
Election Supervisory Commission (ESC) before final results of
tomorrow's
general polls are announced, ESC chairperson, Theophilus Gambe,
said
yesterday.
Addressing the observers in the capital, Gambe said the timely
production of
these reports was necessary to enable the ESC to come up with
a detailed
report of the parliamentary elections - Zimbabwe's sixth
successive since
independence from Britain 25 years ago.
"As the ESC, we
request that preliminary reports from observers be presented
to our monitors
and supervisors on the ground prior to the announcements of
the results. The
timely presentation will also help us produce a timely
report of the
elections," he said.
Gambe also said it was essential for the observers to
highlight any
irregularities they would have noticed and attention them to
ESC officials
for speedy rectification.
"If observers see irregularities
or apparent irregularities they should
bring them to the attention of the
ESC officials who will then bring them to
the attention of presiding
officers so that they rectify the anomalies there
and then if it's
possible," he said.
Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) chairperson, Justice
George Chiweshe,
said preparations for tomorrow's vote were almost
complete.
"Our state of preparedness is almost 100 percent complete and all
10
provincial offices are now in place and being manned by their provincial
election officers and staff," he said.
On postal votes, Chiweshe said ZEC
had since dispatched all application
forms to the ministries of defence,
home affairs and foreign affairs, and
their processing was in
progress.
"Application forms for postal votes have been dispatched to the
ministry of
home affairs, defence and foreign affairs. The processing of the
application
forms is still in progress and all participants in the elections
are
involved," Chiweshe said.
He also sharply dismissed reports some
soldiers had already voted
irregularly.
ZEC has set up 8 256 polling
stations countrywide where three queues at each
station would be arranged
alphabetically.
Registered voters with surnames beginning with letters A to L
would form
their own queue. Those with surnames starting with the letter M,
and N to Z
would also form their own queues.
Yahoo News
Australia complains its broadcaster barred from Zimbabwe
polls
SYDNEY, (AFP) - Australia complained that its national
broadcaster had been
barred from covering this week's Zimbabwe elections,
which it said were
"unlikely" to be fair.
Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer said it was "regrettable" that Zimbabwe
authorities had
apparently denied the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
(ABC) access to
cover Thursday's parliamentary elections.
"I call on the Zimbabwean
authorities to reverse this decision," Downer
said, noting that the same ban
affected the BBC and other British news
media.
While Downer noted
that there had been "a pleasing reduction in political
violence" and fewer
restrictions placed on opposition parties during the
campaign than in
previous elections, he said the polls "are unlikely to be
free and
fair".
"Sadly, the people of Zimbabwe will have little opportunity to
pass
judgement on a government that has eroded democratic and human rights
and
the rule of law and blighted its people's daily lives by severe economic
mismanagement," he said.
The elections pit veteran President
Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party
against an opposition headed by the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and
its leader, Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Australia has, alongside Britain, played a leading role
in trying to isolate
Mugabe's regime, which it accuses of widespread
corruption and human rights
violations.
Downer said that despite
some signs of improvements during the current
election campaign, "the
electoral playing field remains strongly tilted in
favour of the ruling
party".
He charged that intimidation of voters was "pervasive",
including through
the use of food supplies, while "significant question
marks" remain over the
state of electoral rolls, recent changes to electoral
boundaries and the
independence of electoral authorities.
mirror.co.uk
A TYRANT'S TEXTBOOK Mar 30 2005
Zimbabwe is
a nation dying on its feet .. yet this old man still
clings to power and
will use every trick he can to remain there
By Anton Antonowicz And
Mark Ellis
HE IS an ageing tyrant who has turned his country
from a bread basket
into a begging bowl.
He presides over the
fastest-shrinking economy in the world,
contracting 30 per cent in the past
five years. Inflation has hit 600 per
cent. There are critical food
shortages, with at least four million facing
starvation.
Three
million people - a fifth of the population - have fled abroad.
Nine out of
10 who remain live on less than $1 a day. Unemployment runs at
80 per
cent.
In a free and fair society no president would be elected with
that
kind of economic performance.
But Zimbabwe is neither
"free" nor "fair". And that is why despot
Robert Mugabe - aged 81 in a land
where average life expectancy has fallen
to 33 years - will win the
parliamentary elections tomorrow.
To do so, he has used every trick
in the megalomaniac's manual.
Indeed, with 25 years of unbroken power, he
can lay claim to having written
it.
CHAPTER 1: "Food Buys
Votes."
FOR the past four months Mugabe has been secretly importing
grain from
South Africa to hand out to supporters of his Zanu-PF
party.
This is the same President who last May declared that the
country was
reaping a record harvest of 2.8 million tonnes of grain and
there would be
no imports of food.
He also ordered the World
Food Programme to wind up its food
distribution operation. "Why foist food
on us?" he demanded. "We don't want
to be choked."
Agricultural
monitoring agencies, farm unions and even Zimbabwe's own
Parliament
dismissed his claims of a bumper harvest, forecasting the real
figure would
be 700,000 tonnes - half the amount needed to feed the nation.
Human rights agencies say that in 2002, a year after Mugabe began his
disastrous policy of seizing farms from white owners, the government took
total control of grain supplies, restricting movement, raiding farms and
seizing stocks.
Famine relief agencies were banned from
providing food. A state
monopoly, the Grain Marketing Board, effectively
became the sole distributor
of maize in rural areas.
But the
people there could only buy grain if they produced Zanu
membership cards.
Bags of maize have been handed out at polling stations to
ruling-party
supporters, human rights agencies say.
"People are starving in at
least four of the country's 10 provinces,"
says Renson Gasela, agricultural
spokesman for the rival Movement for
Democratic Change. "Zimbabwe was the
bread basket of Africa. Now it imports
more than it produces.
"We have seen trains loaded with unmarked bags of grain arriving from
South
Africa. It is no mystery that the food is being distributed to those
areas
where Zanu holds sway.
"Mugabe's youth militia have been sent to
depots to vet people coming
to buy food. Last week one Zanu candidate openly
told people they will be
denied maize if they vote for the MDC. Mugabe is
buying votes with food.
Simple as that. But what happens after the election,
when the food and
what's left of the money runs out?"
The
answer is obvious. Mugabe will appeal to international donors,
and, in the
midst of a humanitarian crisis, they will provide the food his
policies have
squandered.
CHAPTER 2: 'How to Rig Votes.'
VOTE
counting will be administered by the army. Ballot boxes are made
of
transparent plastic. Counting will be done during the night.
Rural
voters account for nearly two thirds of the population. At their
polling
stations, counting will be done by candle- or torchlight. The
soldiers are
fed and paid by the government.
"In remote rural areas, polling
will end at 7pm," says MDC MP David
Coltart. "Votes will be counted in a
tent 40 miles from the nearest phone,
with a soldier running the process,
police around him, a Zanu war veteran
observer appointed by Mugabe, the
agent representing Zanu as a party - and
one MDC
representative.
"It's going to be a brave MDC guy, deep in the bush
at night, 40 miles
from a phone, to say: 'No, that's not a Zanu vote, that's
an MDC vote.'"
New laws mean three million people living and
working abroad, most of
them opposition supporters, cannot
vote.
At least 800,000 dead people are known to be on the electoral
register. But opposition candidates have not been allowed to scrutinise that
register. Those who have tried say they have been promised it some time next
month - after the election.
Villagers have been told a "central
computer" will be able to identify
which village voted for whom - a clear
and cynical threat aimed at people on
the edge of famine.
CHAPTER 3: 'Wave a Big Stick.'
MUGABE has recently received a huge
consignment of arms from China. He
recalled all reservists ahead of the
election, raising fears tha tthe army
will stage a coup in the unlikely
event of a poll defeat. The hardware,
moved secretly from the Mozambique
port of Beira, includes heavy assault
rifles, military vehicles, riot
equipment and teargas.
Mugabe's defence chiefs threatened an army
coup if the 2002 election
went against him.
They have taken to
repeating those threats now, claiming they could
never allow their country
to be ruled by anyone who did not fight in the
1970s war of independence
from Britain - a reference to opposition leader
Morgan
Tsvangirai.
CHAPTER 4: 'Gag The Media.'
THE government
has closed down five independent newspapers in two
years. Two journalists
have been tortured and the Harare-based Daily News
was bombed twice in
2003.
Meanwhile, Mugabe's state-run media is working full-tilt to
maintain
the old man's fairy-tale, Cloud-cuckoo-land Zimbabwe.
One paper shows a photograph of a dead cow lying in a lush pasture.
The
caption reads: "One of the many [cows] dead from eating too much
grass."
This in a country threatened by famine. This in a country
ruled by
plain, bare-faced cynicism.
Another article, this time
responding to criticism of the government
by Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "Tutu
- an embittered vassal of imperialism. He
should pray to the real God, not
false gods like Bush and Blair..." the
paper rants.
One
high-placed education official tells us: "The people are being
starved of
information. Living here is like living in the old Soviet Union.
We know
nothing about the opposition - all information is
government-controlled."
CHAPTER 5: Blame the
West'.
IN 1990 Zimbabwe had one of Africa's best health-care
systems. But in
recent years Mugabe has cut its budget to channel funds into
the army and
central intelligence organisation on which he
relies.
As a result, the health system has collapsed - while the
country reels
from an Aids epidemic.
One in eight children in
Zimbabwe will now die before the age of five,
the highest mortality rate in
the world, according to the United Nations
Children's Fund.
About 70 per cent of the deaths are due to Aids, which kills a child
there
every 15 minutes. Another million children - one in five - have been
orphaned by the disease.
The country has the world's
fourth-highest HIV/Aids level - 24 per
cent of the population is infected.
Neighbouring countries generalise and
blame Zimbabwe's economic migrants for
spreading the disease.
Because of his policies of diverting funds
to maintain power, donor
organisations - the World Bank, the Global Fund and
the US - have shunned
Mugabe.
Yet, while the health crisis is
largely of its own making, the
government has grown louder in its appeals
for the international community
to solve the problem it created. It also
demands control of any money aid
would provide.
It is the
begging bowl in one hand feeding fat wallets in the other.
CHAPTER
6: 'Play the Race Card."
MUGABE has seized 4,000 white-owned farms,
leaving only 500 to produce
sufficient tobacco and other crops to earn vital
hard currency.
Despite this, his land reform has largely failed.
Agriculture has
slumped and he can't use white farmers as electoral
whipping-boys any more.
So this time his bogeyman is Tony Blair, "the
latter-day British
imperialist".
He, according to Mugabe, is
the poisonous power behind the opposition
MDC. Blair, a man who employs
homosexuals - Mugabe is virulently anti-gay -
in his
government.
"What is he doing here?" Mugabe asks. "Does he want to
take away our
wives?"
Then he turns his attention to citizens
working abroad, particularly
Zimbabweans who left to work in the NHS -
"running away", Mugabe scoffs, "to
wash the bodies of the elderly people in
England."
The Tyrant's Textbook comes with a Conclusion: This
focuses on South
Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, President Bush's so-called
"Pointman" for
the region.
Without Mbeki's support, Mugabe
would be finished. But old allegiances
die hard. Once, they were both
freedom fighters, as Mugabe never stops
reminding his old pal.
So Mbeki wrings his hands, voices serious concern for his neighbour.
And
does diddly-squat. As a result Mugabe the tyrant will continue to rule
and
his people to suffer.
The only consolation, mentioned earlier: the
President should have
died 48 years ago. That may be a mean average. But one
thing is certain. The
tyrant does not have many chapters left in
him.
boston.com
South Africa's failure in Zimbabwe
By Padraig O'Malley |
March 30, 2005
JOHANNESBURG
PARLIAMENTARY elections will be held
tomorrow in Zimbabwe in conditions that
assure they will not be free and
fair.
This is due to the systematic evisceration of every vestige of due
process
in Zimbabwe under the regime of Robert Mugabe, whose Zimbabwe
African
National Union-Patriotic Front has ruled the country since
1980.
In 2000 the once invincible ZANU party lost some support to an
emerging
opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change, led by trade
unionist Morgan
Tsvangirai in parliamentary elections that independent
observers, with the
exception of the African National Congress, pronounced
neither free nor
fair. In 2002 Mugabe narrowly beat Tsvangirai in a
presidential election,
pronounced neither free nor fair by most election
observers, again with the
exception of the ANC.
Since 2002 Mugabe has
cracked down on political opposition, conducted a
reign of terror against
MDC supporters and party workers, expelled foreign
journalists, and shut
down the independent media. He has packed a once
independent judiciary with
hand-picked ZANU lackeys and used the courts to
prosecute opponents on
trumped-up charges. He has had Tsvangirai tried for
treason (he was
acquitted). The ZANU-controlled Parliament has passed laws
that restrict
freedom of association and assembly. Government-sponsored
militias were sent
into the countryside to intimidate, terrorize, and, if
necessary, kill. With
elections tomorrow, the electorate is unlikely to
forget the likely
consequences of voting the wrong way.
The people starve, in part because
the land seized from white farmers in
2000 and thereafter was turned over to
liberation war veterans, Mugabe
cronies, an assortment of landless peasants,
farm tenants, and party
loyalists, few of whom can farm. In the country once
regarded as the
agricultural breadbasket of the sub-Sahara, the World Food
Program estimates
that about half of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people are at
risk of starvation
while Mugabe bans food aid, the better to use what food
there is as a
political tool.
Earlier this month, Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch each issued
a report that said the
systematic human rights violations by the Zimbabwean
government made free
participation in the elections impossible.
Mugabe is in substantial
breach of every election protocol of the Southern
African Development
Community, of which Zimbabwe is a member; he has failed
to implement the
recommendations of the African Union's Commission on Human
and People's
Rights; he flouts international law, and he has banned the
presence of
observer teams from all countries and nongovernmental
organizations that
might conclude that the elections might not be free and
fair (China
qualifies, the European Union does not).
Rather than rebuke Mugabe for
his crimes against his own people, South
Africa assists in their
persecution. When Zimbabweans, desperate for food
and work, sneak their way
into South Africa, they are incarcerated in the
Lindela Repatriation Center,
a prison that would put any apartheid-era
prison to shame.
Sadly,
black South Africans seem to have forgotten that all of Africa took
them in
and championed their cause, often at risk to themselves. Just weeks
ago,
President Thabo Mbeki pronounced, ''Nobody in Zimbabwe is likely to act
in a
way that will prevent free and fair elections being held" -- the blithe
sentiment of the mightily unperturbed.
A mere 11 years ago, South
Africa held its first free, fair, and nonracial
elections, which brought 40
years of apartheid ignominy and 300 years of
institutionalized racial
discrimination to an end. It ushered in an era of
democratic governance,
with the ANC the lead actor. However, before the ANC
would agree to
elections in 1994, it insisted on a level political playing
field. The
actual casting of a ballot, the ANC well knew, is the next to
final act in
the process of a free and fair election, not the first. The
world supported
the demands the ANC made on the white minority government.
It stood in
solidarity, and across the globe people took to the streets on
its behalf,
on behalf of millions of black South Africans. It flooded the
country with
election observers from across the world to ensure free and
fair
elections.
The result is history, and South Africa has been eager to
share the secrets
of its success with other democracies in the process of
transition.
Except with its next-door neighbor.
In the days ahead,
the South African government's observers have a chance to
redeem their
country's honor, but few here are holding their breath.
Padraig O'Malley
is a senior fellow emeritus at the McCormack Graduate
School at
UMass-Boston.