The Zimbabwe Situation

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

19/07/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter I Agencies

SOUTH Africa is on Saturday set host a mini-summit of SADC leaders ahead of
Zimbabwe’s July 31 elections, to review and assess worrying reports from the
ground, a key adviser to President Jacob Zuma has said.

The presidents of Mozambique, Tanzania and Namibia will join Zuma, Sadc’s
facilitator, during the choppy build-up to the presidential and
parliamentary polls, at the meeting in Pretoria, Lindiwe Zulu said.

The announcement reflects mounting concern in the region about the risk of
further political disorder in Zimbabwe, a fertile and resource-rich country
which has declined steadily over the past 15 years. Millions of its citizens
have migrated abroad, mostly as economic refugees to South Africa.

"The heads of state will go through the reports already coming in from the
ground, from political parties and the Sadc election observers who started
arriving this week," Zulu said. "Complaints are being made … but it’s
difficult to assess them without a meeting."

Zulu was speaking after a one-day summit in Pretoria between South Africa
and the European Union (EU).
Early this week Zulu revealed that President Zuma had phoned President
Robert Mugabe to express his concern over preparations for the elections.

"We are concerned because things on the ground are not looking good," said
Zulu.
The remarks drew fire from Zanu PF officials with politburo member and
former information minister Jonathan Moyo dismissing Zulu as an MDC-T
sympathiser.

“MDC-T sympathisers and supporters in President Zuma’s facilitation team are
now coming out of their closets to openly show their support for the MDC-T
by foolishly claiming that the situation on the ground is not looking good,”
said Moyo.

“Fortunately for us, the elections are being held in terms of the rule of
law. Observers on the ground who have been in the country since the
processes started are better placed to make rational and sensible comments
about the situation on the ground than Lindiwe Zulu.”

Moyo said Zulu’s remarks showed that President Zuma’s facilitation team had
“effectively disqualified itself as an impartial” mediator.

“If that is true (what Zulu reportedly said) then they risk being
permanently ignored and irrelevant. If they keep playing games then
irrelevance shall come sooner than they imagine. It is undiplomatic for
communication between heads of States to be peddled in the newspapers,” he
said.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council,
confirmed that if Sadc gave the elections a clean bill of health and all
parties accepted the outcome, the EU would lift its remaining sanctions on
Mugabe and key members of his Zanu (PF).

"If the elections are indeed peaceful, transparent and credible we look
forward to a full normalisation of relations with Zimbabwe," Van Rompuy
said.

Mugabe, 89, and in power with Zanu (PF) since independence in 1980, has
banned observers from Europe and the US.
Sadc and African Union observers will be the world’s eyes on the elections.
The opposition MDC parties and civil rights activists in Zimbabwe have
voiced concern that the elections will not be free and fair.

Those worried about the conduct of the elections have argued that the reform
needed for the elections to be free and fair had not taken place. The
reforms they had called for included changes to the electoral commission and
the state media.

Further, they had wanted guarantees that the security forces would conduct
themselves in a non-partisan and professional manner during the elections.

The reforms the opposition and rights activists have been clamouring for
were part of the power-sharing agreement in place since 2009.

So far, there have been no signs of the extreme anti-MDC violence witnessed
in the 2008 polls. But organisational problems and allegations of an
inflated voters’ roll marred special voting by the security forces last
weekend.

Zim elections: Top lawyer running for Parliament arrested

http://mg.co.za/

20 JUL 2013 18:34AFP

Zimbabwean police on Saturday arrested a prominent rights lawyer running for
Parliament against President Robert Mugabe's party polls, a lawyers group
said.

Arnold Tsunga, vying for a seat in the eastern city of Mutare, was detained
together with his campaign team allegedly for holding an unauthorised rally,
the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said.

"They are currently detained at Dangamvura Police Station and the police
have indicated their intention to transfer them to Mutare Central Police
Station," the group said in a statement.

Police were not available to comment.

Tsunga is running for the Movement for Democratic Change of Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe's archrival.

The lawyers association said another MDC activist and lawyer, Jacob Mafume,
was barred from holding a campaign rally in a Harare suburb.

Slow voter registration
Zimbabwean parties are preparing for the July 31 vote, which will end the
uneasy coalition between Tsvangirai and Mugabe born of the power-sharing
deal that followed deadly 2008 post-election violence.

The run-up to the elections has been marred by a slow voter registration
that left thousands off the roll and a chaotic special vote for the security
forces.

Right groups have warned of political violence and intimidation as both
leaders ramp up their campaigns.

Under Zimbabwe's security laws political gatherings or marches have to be
sanctioned by the police but rights groups and opposition activists complain
that rule is never enforced for Mugabe's Zanu-PF.

Mugabe, at 89 is the world's second oldest head of state, is seeking another
mandate at the helm of the troubled country, which he has ruled since
independence in 1980. – AFP

.

MDC-T defiant as cop vote case dismissed

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

19/07/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

THE MDC-T has vowed to block the estimated 40,000 security services
personnel who failed to vote early this week from being included in the
general elections at the end of the month despite the High Court dismissing
the party’s challenge against the special vote.

The party had approached the court to have the special vote, which was
slated for Sunday and Monday this week but ended up spilling into Tuesday,
nullified.

Some 69,000 cops were said to have been eligible for the special vote but
the MDC-T said the numbers had been deliberately inflated with the party’s
secretary general and finance minister, Tendai Biti, saying just over 41,
000 police officers appear on the government salary register.

But in a ruling delivered Friday, Justice George Chiweshe dismissed the
application and said he would give his reasons at a later date.

MDC-T elections official, Morgan Komichi, said the party was not surprised
by the ruling.
“We knew even as we filed our application that our courts have become very
unprofessional at election times,” Komichi told SWRadio Africa.

“It does not matter whether you have all the evidence and witnesses to
support your case, our judges will rule in favour of Zanu PF. But we will
continue fighting our cases in the courts because we are a law-abiding
party.”

Meanwhile even though the exercise continued beyond the initially scheduled
two days only 29,000 voters managed to cast their ballots as the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC) bungled the exercise, raising concerns about the
organisation’s preparedness for the general vote at the end of the month.

ZEC chief, Justice Rita Makarau, apologised for the problems and said
security personnel who failed to vote on Sunday and Monday would be allowed
to cast their votes with the rest of the country at the end of the month.

“The commission will ensure that all persons who were deprived of the
opportunity to vote between 14 and 15 July 2013 will be able to vote on 31
July 2013 when the rest of the electorate votes,” Makarau said early this
week.

“To this end, only the names of those who actually cast ballots during the
special vote will be deleted from the ward voters’ rolls that will be used
for polling on 31 July 2013.

“Lists of those officers who voted on 14 and 15 July 2013 and those who
failed to cast their ballots will be open for public inspection at the
offices of the Chief Elections Officer.”

But Biti said Friday that this would be illegal and warned that his party
would return to the courts to challenge ZEC’s decision.

“This will be another area of contestation if they are allowed to vote.
These are things not in the discretion of ZEC as they are clearly spelt out
in the law,” Biti told reporters in Harare.

“The law stipulates that the special vote shall take place for two days and
those days shall not be less than 16 days from the actual date of polling.
It was allowed to take place on the third day and it means that the process
breached the law.

“If the law is breached it means the whole special vote is a nullity and we
are going to contest if ZEC decides otherwise.”
ZEC started verifying and tallying ballot papers from the special vote on
Friday in the presence of representatives from Zanu PF, the MDC-T and other
political parties.

Speaking at the opening of the ballots, MDC-T representative and deputy
justice minister Obert Gutu, said: “The process has gone well. There has not
been any serious logistical challenge. I think it’s almost fool-proof.

“It’s virtually difficult and impossible to rig with this kind of procedure
because all party election agents have access to inspect the ballot boxes to
see if they are sealed.

“If they are not there, then they can raise an objection and have them
rejected. I have not seen anything really that will make anyone want to
think that there is anything suspect.

“I would like to believe that to the extent that the sealing process was
done well and that the process is being done slowly, but thoroughly. So I
would say so far, so good.”

Zanu PF’s Sydney Sekeramayi added: “They (ZEC) are opening ballots in the
presence of various political parties, among them Zanu PF and the MDC
formations.

“Those who suspect that there are tricks being played, people are
manipulating and wanting to rig were obviously quite anxious. But as the
process is going on, it is clear that everything is above board and people
will do the counting.

“At the end of the day, it will be demonstrated that there was no chicanery.
(ZEC) is a government organ and as government if there are any problems with
it, we have to help them solve the problem instead of rubbishing and
condemning the whole process.”

Makarau fends off bias allegations

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

19/07/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWE Electoral Commission chair, Justice Rita Makarau, has dismissed as
false and regrettable, accusations of bias and incompetence after her
organisation bungled the special voting exercise for the uniformed forces.

Questions have been raised as to whether the poorly funded ZEC would be able
to grant over six million voters a chance to cast their ballots in one day
when nearly 40,000 service men failed to vote in three days.

Makarau and her commission have since apologised for the embarrassing
blunder but still face allegations that they are controlled by the Central
Intelligence Organisation.

In a press statement Thursday, the Commission said it was concerned about
negative comments made against ZEC and further urged the country’s media and
political parties to stop undermining its operations with repeated claims of
favouritism.

“The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission notes with concern increased media
reports that are throwing aspersions on the integrity and impartiality of
its Commissioners and staff, thus putting into question their
professionalism and commitment to the cause of conducting free and fair
election on 31st July, 2013,” reads the ZEC statement.

“These reports also imply that there is no unity of purpose between and
among the commissioners and staff. Commissioners and staff of ZEC have
different backgrounds but they are all required to be, and to date have
been, impartial in the discharge of their duties.

“Any accusations against individual commissioners are false and
regrettable.”
Leading the charges against ZEC is the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
MDC-T party which this week said it had lost faith with ZEC insisting the
electoral body’s operative functions have been seized by the country’s
military top brass.

Addressing journalists at a party press briefing early this week, MDC-T
secretary general Tendai Biti said ZEC was no longer in charge of the
country’s controversial electoral processes.

“We are really worried about ZEC,” he said.
“We have lost institutional trust in ZEC despite our strong respect for
individuals in it, particularly the commissioners, Justice Makarau (Rita)
and so forth.

“We are very grateful to what they are doing but we feel that the junta has
taken over this process. ZEC is no longer in charge and a secret evil hand
is running this process.”

But Makarau urged political parties to refrain from making such comments.
“While it is accepted that the commission has to conduct its affairs in the
public eye and should be criticized for any shortcomings on its part, the
Commission would like to make an impassioned plea to the media, political
parties and the nation at large to avoid distracting the Commission from
focusing on its mission,” she said in the statement.

“The commission remains committed to conducting free and fair elections on
31st July 2013.”

MDC could win Zim election

http://www.iol.co.za/

July 20 2013 at 01:21pm
By Peta Thornycroft

Johannesburg - The chances of Morgan Tsvangirai winning the presidential
election on July 31 in the first round of polling have never been better,
many analysts believe, even if surveys- now, though, a year old, seem to
tell a different story.

Most voters, mainly the poor and unemployed working class, are increasingly
desperate for relief from the grim economic situation created by previous
Zanu-PF administrations.

The brief glimpse of economic recovery following the arrival of an inclusive
government in 2009 has worn off and the reality is there is no investment,
and infrastructure repair has mostly come to a standstill.

Reforms to election laws, including the administration of elections, make
rigging or miscounts more difficult, despite chaos within the Zimbabwe
Election Commission which last week showed with its poor handling of just
the special voting, that it is not yet ready to run full elections.

But just as it seems more likely for Tsvangirai to win more than 50 percent
in the first round, the prospect of a victory sends shivers down the spines
of most Zimbabweans as they recall what happened in the last poll.

Those elections were, as usual, peaceful on the day – March 28, 2008.

The official count showed Tsvangirai easily beat Mugabe in the first round
but was nearly three percent short of what he needed to win outright, 50
percent plus one vote.

But insiders believe Tsvangirai had got that figure and that Zanu-PF knew
this within 12 hours after polls closed via the Zimbabwe Election
Commission, then chaired by one of Mugabe’s allies, General George Chiweshe,
now president of the Harare High Court.

Mugabe was prepared to stand down. He felt thoroughly beaten, and was tired.

But there was panic elsewhere in Zanu-PF and some of the party elite began
moving assets. The military and others in security, in particular the Joint
Operation Command, then hatched a plot for Mugabe to survive. They would
manipulate the vote to deny Tsvangirai victory in the first round and then
drive him out of the run-off. by violence, or so some insiders suspect.

That’s why it took an otherwise inexplicable five weeks for the ZEC to
announce the presidential election result, showing a narrow MDC victory.

When MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti claimed that Tsvangirai had in fact
won more than 50 percent he was arrested.

Hundreds were killed, mostly beaten to death, thousands were injured, and
tens of thousands had to flee. Tsvangirai left for Botswana.

Finally, a week before the scheduled run off, gunmen started firing around
the five-star hotel where the mostly African observer groups stayed. That
was the end of the road.

Tsvangirai decided to withdraw from the run-off.

Of course Mugabe won. But there was no food in supermarkets, the currency
was more useful to start a fire than take to a shop, there were fuel
shortages, power cuts, closed schools and hospitals, and no money to pay
civil servants.

SADC intervened, asking then president Thabo Mbeki to mediate negotiations
among the rival parties for a power-sharing transitional government. It is
over four years since then. The country now has better electoral laws, it
has a couple of independents on the election commission.

There is also President Jacob Zuma’s mediation team who are concerned enough
to call a summit of SADC’s security troika, mainly to discuss “the status of
preparations” for the elections.

So it is clear that a Tsvangirai victory would be a move into the perilous
unknown for the country.

Independent Foreign Service

First independent TV station goes on air

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

19/07/2013 00:00:00
by AP

THE country’s first independent television station went on air Friday to
challenge the 30-year state broadcasting monopoly controlled by President
Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party.

Mugabe's party said earlier Friday it will take all measures to "cripple"
what it calls a pirate station.
The station, known as 1st TV, began broadcasting in the evening. It is a
satellite feed from outside Zimbabwe using a free network received by an
estimated 700,000 homes across the country.

State media reported that George Charamba, Mugabe's spokesman, said South
Africa will be asked to stop broadcasts believed to be beamed from there
because they "hurt Zimbabwean interests" ahead of elections on July 31.

ZBC-TV has about 350,000 peak hour evening viewers. The new station hopes to
attract 3 million viewers.
The regional free-to-air satellite platform known as Wiztech became
available earlier this month after a South African court ordered that
country's state broadcaster to stop using it to transmit its programming at
no cost because of infringements of copyright laws.

The latest independent Zimbabwe Advertising Products Survey said Wiztech
satellite signal decoder receivers brought SABC programs and regional gospel
church broadcasts to viewers turning them away from ZBC programs seen as a
key propaganda tool for Mugabe's Zanu PF party.

Pay television satellite channels have about 40,000 subscribers in Zimbabwe.
The free service has seen satellite dishes mushrooming on impoverished
township roofs, hostels and shanty dwellings, some powered by car batteries,
in the past five years as local terrestrial state TV deteriorated.

Ahead of the July 31 elections, state television and radio have been
broadcasting Zanu PF campaign rallies live, using new outside broadcast
facilities provided by China. The television on Wednesday broadcast a Mugabe
campaign rally live for nearly three hours.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the former opposition leader in a shaky
coalition with Mugabe since the last violent and disputed elections in 2008,
receives little coverage by the state broadcaster.

Charamba alleged Friday that 1st TV was being funded by Western nations out
of South Africa and was being led by journalists backing Tsvangirai.

But Andrew Chadwick, an executive producer at the station, told The
Associated Press that Zimbabwean journalists outside the country saw an
opportunity to provide independent and balanced news and discussion to
Zimbabweans for the first time since independence in 1980, along with
movies, soaps and entertainment.

Advertisement

"This is a new and entirely commercial and viable station. It is not a
stand-alone one for elections. It is an alternative source of information
and entertainment that until now have been completely controlled by Mugabe's
party," he said.

It was no surprise that any loss of that long-embedded and overwhelming
broadcast domination infuriated Mugabe's party, which the station has now
asked to participate in political debates and buy advertising space, he
said.

Charamba said Mugabe's party in the coalition had demanded private radio
stations allegedly favouring Tsvangirai that were broadcasting into Zimbabwe
from outside the country be shut down under the power sharing agreement, but
the MDC-T party insists it has not been given equal access to the state
media controlled by Mugabe that also had not stopped bitter "hate speech"
directed at Mugabe's opponents.

In previous elections, the state broadcaster was the main source of
information for rural Zimbabweans in the population of about 13 million
people.

Mugabe persistently refused calls by regional mediators on Zimbabwe's decade
long political and economic crisis to open up the airwaves to independent
broadcasters to end his party's one-sided propaganda.

Chinese engineers have helped the state broadcaster jam some incoming
independent radio programs.
Chadwick said 1st TV's internationally licensed and recognized satellite
signal beamed from an undisclosed location not inside South Africa cannot be
jammed or shut down by advanced technical or electronic methods.

Where to find Zimbabwe 1st TV on the internet: Streaming, YouTube, Facebook

http://www.techzim.co.zw/

By L.S.M Kabweza
July 20th, 2013

Zimbabwe 1st TV went live yesterday as promised. But they are not just
beaming to free-to-air satellite TV decoders, the channel is available for
online viewing. The channel can be viewed as streaming service you Ustream,
viewed as recorded shows on YouTube, and followed on Facebook for some
social interaction on the content they are beaming.

The video streaming service can be accessed here:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/zimbabwe-1st-tv. We notice though that the
service indicates “Off air” which means you’ll be watching recorded stuff
for now.

The YouTube channel is here:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5jB5WEGBlyFBnW0MUbB5FA. The name of the
channel right now though is Tendai Gono, so we’re not sure if this is
official or just a big fan spreading the content.

On Facebook Zimbabwe 1st TV is available here:
https://www.facebook.com/1stTV.

Of course a new TV station beaming via satellite in a country where there’s
only one broadcaster, a national one, is also a political conversation. We
try to stay away from the politics here so you will have to Google for that
kind of conversation.

New Independent Television Station Upsets Mugabe

http://www.voazimbabwe.com/

Chris Gande
19.07.2013

WASHINGTON DC — As a group of Zimbabweans launched an independent television
station Friday, President Robert Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba, vowed
that government will do all it can to stop the station from beaming from
South Africa.

1st TV, hosted by former Studio 7 and Short Wave Radio Africa reporter,
Violet Gonda, and ex-Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation presenter, Themba
Hove, was launched Friday in Johannesburg.

Mr. Charamba said they are going to appraoch South African president, Jacob
Zuma, and ask him to bock the station, which takes advantage of the South
African Broadcasting Corporation’s removal of its signal to Zimbabwe on
Wiztech decorders.

“We have been aware of the technical corroboration between VOA and Sentech.
What we did not expect was this expansion of that corroboration. Also we are
not very sure if the South African government is aware of what its
parastatal is doing to hurt Zimbabwean interests. We will pursue diplomatic
channels,’’ Charamba told the state-run Herald.

Executive producer, Themba Hove told VOA Studio 7 that they are going to be
impartial and therefore the Zimbabwean government should not pre-judge them.

Tsvangirai Promises to Revive Troubled Bulawayo Industries

http://www.voazimbabwe.com

VOA Studio 7 Reporters

20.07.2013

BULAWAYO — Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says his party will revive
collapsing industries in Zimbabwe’s second largest city, Bulawayo, if the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is elected into power in the
forthcoming general election.

Mr. Tsvangirai made these remarks at White City Stadium where he told about
40,000 supporters that Zimbabweans should vote for his party which will
transform the national economy and revitalize industries in Bulawayo.

More than 80 companies have either collapsed or relocated to Harare since
the formation of the unity government due to lack of capital to boost
production and serious shortages of water.

Mr. Tsvangirai also promised to cater for the youth, elderly and poor if
elected president in the July 31 polls.

Nelson Chamisa, the party’s organizing secretary, told VOA Studio 7 the
MDC-T is expected to make a clean sweep in the region in the polls.

In the Matabeleland South provincial capital, Gwanda, businesses were forced
to close as President Robert Mugabe addressed thousands of people at
Pelandaba Stadium.

Psychology Maziwisa, Zanu PF deputy information and publicity director, said
indications are that Zanu PF will clinch most seats in Matabeleland South
province.

But Gwanda resident, Bulesti Nyathi, said people were forced to attend the
rally as they were transported in buses and trucks from as far afield as
Bulilima, Insiza and Mzingwane districts.

In a related development, youth groups have described as authentic results
of a survey conducted by the Research and Advocacy Unit indicating that
about 2 million youths have been left out of Zimbabwe’s voters’ roll.

Several youth groups said they have been struggling since the formation of
the unity government to register young people on the country’s voters’ roll.

They say most youths were turned away by the Registrar General’s Office for
allegedly failing to produce documents showing their place of residence.

Wellington Zindove of the Youth Forum said the RG’s office suspects that
most youths will vote against Zanu PF which is believed to be linked to the
former liberation party.

Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede was not reachable for comment. Zimbabwe
will hold a general election July 31.

Pictures: MDC-T youth hospitalised after another attack by Zanu PF thugs

Prof. Ncube: Devolution Set to Empower Local People

http://www.voazimbabwe.com/

Nothando Sibanda
20.07.2013

BINGA, MATABELELAND NORTH — Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader
Professor Welshman Ncube says most regions will experience significant
development if people are allowed to manage local resources.

Mr. Ncube said this Saturday in Binga, Matabeleland North province, when he
addressed more than 2,000 people at the launch of the party’s election
manifesto.

The MDC, the last of the parties in this year's harmonized election to
launch its manifesto, said the MDC's electoral promises are built around the
need to decentralize power and give all regions the authority to make
developmental decisions critical to those areas.

Mr. Ncube said devolution covers all aspects of development, economic
revival and the rebuilding of the country’s relations with the international
community - all based on the understanding that each citizen needs to be
part of the decision-making structures of the nation.

He said the devolution action points contained in the party’s manifesto
embrace social delivery which has collapsed due to the absence of a devolved
system of government, excessive centralisation of power, high levels of
corruption, politicisation of public institutions and widespread bad
governance which his party seeks to address.

Mr. Ncube said the choice of Binga as a venue for the manifesto launch
underlines the party's drive to decentralize power and build a government
inclusive of all people in the country.

Party supporter, Cecelia Chimbire, who attended the launch, said devolution
of power to provinces has been well-received by the people of Binga that
have not benefited from the district’s abundant natural resources.

Binga is considered one of the least developed districts in the country
despite an abundance of resources in the tourism sector and fishing industry
driven by the Zambezi River which flows through the area.

Zimbabwe is in full election campaign mode as parties seek to court the
electorate’s support ahead of the 31 July election.

The MDC manifesto launch was attended by party officials from all the
country’s provinces including party deputy president Edwin Mushoriwa.

Zim: Rigged poll claims 'just politicking'

http://mg.co.za/

19 JUL 2013 00:00WONGAI ZHANGAZHA

The local boss of an Israeli company accused of fixing the voters' roll has
shrugged off the allegations.

The Harare-based head of the shadowy Israeli company working on the
Zimbabwean voters roll, Nikuv International Projects, has hotly denied that
it is involved in rigging the July 31 poll in favour of Zanu-PF.

Nikuv's Ron Asher said this week that the company had never been, nor would
ever be, involved in politics and that it was "legitimate and professional".

Last week Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T)
complained about Nikuv to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, claiming that
the company was manipulating the voters' roll to favour Zanu-PF.

There have also been allegations that Nikuv, whose headquarters is in
Herzliya, Tel Aviv, is a front for Israeli intelligence.

Asher said: "It is election time and people are trying to throw mud from
this side and the other side. We are legitimate and professional. We have
never been involved in any politics, not now or ever."

He said that Nikuv worked with public sectors around the world, although he
would not say which government bodies it was working with in Zimbabwe.

Computerising
The company's website says it manages voter registration and election
processes by "providing necessary tools and appropriate voters cards and
additional equipment for undertaking a successful election process".
Electoral services include voter registration, ward demarcation, the
creation and printing of the voters' roll by polling stations, a central
information centre and the management of election results.

A senior Zimbabwe Cabinet minister who asked to remain anonymous told
amaBhungane last month that Nikuv had been operating in Zimbabwe for more
than 10 years and was mainly based at the National Registration Bureau in
Borrowdale, Harare.

The bureau is the national civic registration centre and falls under the
registrar general's office.

The minister claimed that Asher was working directly with the registrar
general, Tobaiwa Mudede.

However, in a July 15 letter addressed to the MDC-T secretary general,
Tendai Biti, which amaBhungane has seen, Mudede denied that Nikuv was in a
position to manipulate the voters' roll. He said: "Nikuv has no control over
our voters' roll. The mandate to register voters and compile the voter's
roll rests with the registrar of voters."

Veteran politician Dumisa Dabengwa confirmed that Nikuv was hired in 2000
when he was home affairs minister "specifically to upgrade the computers for
the purposes of computerising the central registry, birth certificates,
passports and national identity documents.

"The only time they [Nikuv] attempted to get involved in electoral processes
was when they ?recommended in 2000 that they would want to introduce voting
cards for people that would last [for] four elections," Dabengwa said.

Constitutional powers
However, the government had not adopted the proposal. "If ever they were
then later used for other electoral processes by the state, that is not to
my knowledge," he said.

Dabengwa left Zanu-PF and now leads Zapu, which has joined an election
coalition with Welshman Ncube's MDC.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe High Court interdicted nongovernmental research
organisation Research and Advocacy Unit from launching and publicising its
full analysis of the voters' roll at a Harare hotel on Wednesday.

Judge Joseph Mafusire upheld an urgent application by Mudede, which claimed
that the organisation was attempting to usurp the constitutional powers of
the registrar general's office and intended to cause "chaos and anarchy
within our electoral system".

In a preliminary report, the organisation said that a million Zimbabweans
who were dead or had left the country were still on the voters' roll; that
the roll listed 116 000 people over the age of 100; that there were 78
constituencies with more registered voters than adult residents; and that
two million voters under the age of 30 were not registered.

In a written response, electoral commission chairperson Rita Makarau said it
had raised certain issues about the research unit's "assumptions" but had
not received a response. - Additional reporting by M&G Harare Correspondent

Mugabe urges Zuma to silence advisor

http://www.news24.com/

2013-07-20 20:02

Harare - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Saturday warned South Africa's
Jacob Zuma to stop his top mediator from commenting on the country's
political crisis, as the veteran leader stepped up electioneering.

"That persistent negative voice from South Africa, could it be stopped,"
Mugabe told thousands of supporters at a campaign rally in the Matabeleland
region.

"I appeal to President Zuma to stop this woman of theirs from speaking on
Zimbabwe," said Mugabe referring to Zuma's advisor, Lindiwe Zulu.

It was Mugabe's second attack on Zuma's envoy. Earlier this month he called
Zulu a "streetwoman" when he kicked off his election campaign.

Mugabe, who is running for re-election in the 31 July vote, said only Zuma
had a right to speak on Zimbabwe.

"We were given one facilitator, that's President Zuma and only his voice
should speak," he said. "No other voices."

SADC meeting

Zuma is leading the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mediation
team on Zimbabwe, which pushed for the crunch vote.

The regional bloc had pressed Mugabe to allow time for a series of reforms
that would limit the military's role in politics and strip ghost voters from
the electoral roll.

Mugabe's renewed attack on Zulu comes as the SADC peace and security organ
is meeting in Pretoria to discuss the country's political crisis.

On Friday, Zulu said there were still challenges in the run-up to the key
polls aimed at ending the uneasy unity rule between Mugabe and his archrival
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

With the vote due in less than two weeks, Zimbabwe is still trying to raise
the $132m budget required to fund it.

"As we go to elections, we expect our friends from the Southern African
Development Community, the African Union and Comesa [Common Market for
Eastern and Southern Africa] to assist us in this process by encouraging us,
and where they are able to do so by materially helping us to fund the
elections," Mugabe said.

MDC rally

The veteran leader urged the neighbouring countries to refrain from making
unfavourable comments.

"We don't expect SADC countries to be spreading lies about us and telling
others that the situation in Zimbabwe is not peaceful, that the ground is
not even."

Meanwhile, Tsvangirai addressed a rally in the second city of Bulawayo,
warning that returning Mugabe to power would be a backward move.

- AFP

Elliot Pfebve released without charge

http://www.thezimbabwean.co/

20.07.13

by Edgar Gweshe

MDC-T aspiring Member of Parliament for Bindura North Constituency, Elliot
Pfebve, who was arrested yesterday by police in Bindura, has been released
without charge.

Pfebve was arrested together with 12 MDC-T activists yesterday at a police
roadblock in Bindura on his way from a campaign rally in Mt Darwin.

Pfebve told The Zimbabwean that initially, the police said had arrested him
and his group of supporters on charges of tearing down posters put up by
Zanu (PF) contestants in Mashonaland Central.

“When we were arrested at the roadblock, it was around 10pm and we were
taken to Bindura police where we were told that they were waiting for a
Member in Charge who would proffer charges against us.

“After that, a youth who was part of my team was called and told that he was
being charged for wearing a Zanu (PF) T-shirt when he is an MDC-T supporter.
I challenged this and we stayed for over five hours at the police station
and after that, we were released at around 4am with no charges being put
against us,” said Pfebve.

He described his arrest as a ploy by Zanu (PF) and the police in the area to
intimidate MDC-T members. Police spokesperson for Mashonaland Central,
Assistant Inspector Petros Masikati, said he was unaware of Pfebve’s arrest
when contacted for comment.

“I am not in the office at the moment so I am not aware of that issue,” said
Masikati.

Gono’s Farm Goes Up in Mysterious Flames After Baba Jukwa Warning

http://www.zimeye.org/

By Staff Reporter

Published: July 20, 2013

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Gideon Gono’s farm just outside Harare has been
blazed by a mysterious fire barely 4 weeks after a warning posted by
Facebook ZANU PF top de-filer, Baba Jukwa four weeks ago.

Property and equipment items worth at least USD33,000 were reduced to a
crisp in minutes after the unexplainable flames gutted the farm’s key
production section including a large patch of grazing land after 3 PM
Thursday. This is the second mysterious attack in the last 23 months after
the first one gutted property worth more than USD130,000 and Gono’s family
had to flee for refuge after it was unexpectedly set alight.

Workers at the farm described the fire as having a yellow to a strong blue
coloration at base level alleging that it was clearly not a normal fire.
They said they immediately made a report at Borrowdale police station. Said
Velenjani Lupankwa, a senior executive with TD Holdings, a subsidiary of
Lunar Chickens, “We are still assessing the damage, but our preliminary
investigations have shown that property worth more than US$30 000 has been
destroyed,”gonoclassique

“Considering the fact that the fire has coincided with the visit by our
auditors from Europe we are suspecting foul play because the cause of fire
is not known and this is the first time we have fire breaking out.

“(We are aware that) not everyone is happy with what we are doing, but we
are still investigating, but our preliminary investigations have shown that
there was a hand behind the fire.

“We have lost some of our electronic motors and some of grazing land is
gone, but the good thing is fire brigade arrived on time and they have
managed to control the fire before much harm was done to these projects.

“We have lost some of our electronic motors and as you can see some of
grazing land is gone, but the good thing is fire brigade arrived on time and
they have managed to control the fire before much harm was done to these
projects.”
Babab Jukwa Warning:

After the death of former Mines Minister Edward Chindori Chininga, last
month, ZANU PF de-filer, Baba Jukwa warned Gideon Gono that he could be
assassinated anytime soon.“I wonder still as well why Gideon Gono is not
heeding my warning. Funeral wake is going to visit his family very soon if
he doesn’t take drastic measures to save his precious life.

“They want your head in the platter. Saviour Kasukuwere, Nicholas Goche,
Sydney Sekeramayi, Dick Mafios and the evil crew are responsible for Hon
Chindori Chininga’s death and are also responsible for an attempt on the
life of Mashonaland Central Governor Martin Dinha,” Baba Jukwa alleged.

Still hope for Zimbabwe elections, US ambassador

http://www.english.rfi.fr/

By Laura Angela Bagnetto

There is still hope that elections in Zimbabwe will be free and fair,
Washington’s ambassador to the country, Bruce Wharton, told RFI on Friday. A
number of countries, including the US, have expressed fears that elections,
set for the end of the month, will not be credible.

“I think it’s important that we not prejudge this process,” Wharton said. “I
still believe that it is possible for Zim to have a peaceful, credible
election. Clearly, that’s what’s needed to help move the country
forward—economically, socially and politically. We have expressed concerns
about elements of the process so far, but I think we need to be careful not
to prejudge it.”

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe lashed out at the US at a campaign rally
in Chinhoyi on Friday after the State Department expressed concern that the
elections might not be carried out credibly.

“Keep your pink nose out of our affairs, please,” Mugabe reportedly said.

Wharton says that Mugabe’s comments were part of his campaign speech and
“all part of the political process here”.

Mugabe is working the campaign trail, as is his opponent, Zimbabwe Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Elections are slated for 31 July, a date
determined by Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court earlier this month after both
sides asked for the date to be pushed back.

Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party has claimed that
elections will not be free and fair, no matter what the outcome.

But earlier this week US State Department spokesperson Patrick Ventrell
commented that the election outcome could have an impact on the US’s
sanctions policy and the US has since tended to persuasion rather than
threats, offering to “revisit” current sanctions against the country.

The State Department said US Secretary of State John Kerry had sent Mugabe a
letter regarding the elections, saying the US expected that civil society
would be able to “operate freely” and that the elections would “reflect the
will of the people”.

"We've made it clear that this is a critical moment," Marie Harf, deputy
spokesperson for the State Department said earlier this week.

While more work needs to be done in Zimbabwe in terms of reforms, it is
important to look at the strides made this past year, Wharton told RFI.

“We have pointed out the very positive outcome of the constitutional reform
and the referendum in March of this year and we’ve responded by decreasing
some of the sanctions. We’ve been pretty clear that credible, peaceful,
transparent elections would allow us to further roll back our sanctions on
Zimbabwe,” he said

Although US and European Union observers have not been allowed, Wharton says
that there will be a number of observers from within the country and
throughout the region, including observers from the African Union and the
Southern African Development Community (Sadc).

And on 31 July Wharton will be one of those observers. The government of
Zimbabwe has authorised five people from each of the foreign embassies in
Zimbabwe to be accredited observers.

“I’m very fortunate to be one of those, so I expect to spend the day in the
Harare area primarily, visiting voting places and seeing how things are
going,” he said Friday.

Unpopular Zimbabwe dollar set to return?

http://www.thenational.ae/

Gavin du Venage
Jul 21, 2013
Save this article

Long-suffering Zimbabweans are pretty much resigned to Robert Mugabe romping
home to another engineered election victory later this month; but what truly
sends a shiver of fear through the streets of Harare is talk of
reintroducing the country's currency, the hated Zimbabwe dollar.

Zimbabwe has used the US dollar as its de-facto currency since 2009, not so
much by choice as by necessity, after its own paper fiat became virtually
worthless after years of dizzying hyperinflation.

However, the 89-year-old Mr Mugabe, who has ruled the southern African
country since 1980, told supporters at the ruling Zanu-PF party's kick-off
election rally in the capital, Harare, this month: "We cannot use the US
dollar forever. We will have to look at ways of bringing back our currency
some time in the future."

He speculated that the currency would be backed by gold - hinting that the
country's reserves, still mostly unmined and therefore in the ground, would
be used to give substance to the Zimbabwe dollar.

His comments caused widespread alarm around the country, where memories of
hyperinflation are still fresh. In 2006 Zimbabwe was broke, a result of a
policy to force productive white farmers off their land and hand their
properties to landless blacks.

Mr Mugabe's government, desperate for cash, particularly to pay off debt and
maintain wage payments to civil servants and the army - a vital support
constituency - cranked up the printing presses. The result was almost
instant hyperinflation.

"If they bring it back I'm leaving," said Margaret Sinclair, an artist
living in Harare. "I can't go through hyperinflation again. And everyone I
know feels the same way I do. If the Zimdollar comes back, I'm gone."

It is difficult to convey just how much the Zimbabwe dollar is feared and
loathed. Officially still the currency, it was essentially abandoned in
April 2009, when the reserve bank legalised the US dollar along with other
foreign currencies for everyday use.

At the peak of hyperinflation in November 2008, prices rose a
difficult-to-conceive 6.5 sextillion per cent in one month. People reacted
by creating an alternative economy. Hoarding was the order of the day - when
a tin of beans bought in the morning would cost 50 times the price by the
afternoon, hanging on to supplies was a prudent strategy.

Trading became essential. "I'd drive to a friend's house to swap a few
litres of petrol for bread or milk. Then she'd head off somewhere else to
change the petrol for batteries and a chicken," Ms Sinclair said.

So much cash was needed for the smallest of transactions that the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe could not keep up with demand. Banks began rationing
withdrawals, prompting the occasional riot. Travellers' cheques were used as
a stand-in for cash and finally, something called a "bearer cheque" was
introduced. This was essentially an IOU printed on official RBZ currency
paper that could substitute for trillions of dollars, if necessary.

By 2009 it was obvious that the Zimbabwe dollar was doomed, and foreign
currency, already trading through a thriving black market, was legalised as
tender.

The US dollar is now the currency of choice, and this has stabilised the
economy as well as inflation. However, dollarisation has also brought a few
problems. The central bank cannot of course print American currency, so
Zimbabwe relies on imported notes of which the country never seems to have
enough. Notes are often so faded their value is barely visible.

Liquidity is not helped by competition from South Africans, which maintains
strict foreign-exchange controls, and where holding any currency other than
the rand is illegal. South Africans who want dollars without tipping off the
tax authorities are driving across the Zimbabwe border in droves, where they
can safely draw the currency from any ATM. Another challenge for Zimbabwe is
that US coins are almost entirely absent, making transactions for less than
a dollar problematic, and a real issue for a poverty-stricken population
that lives off a few dollars a day. Zimbabweans, however, have naturally
responded with their customary creativity.

To buy a US 80 cents can of Coca- Cola with a tatty dollar note will result
in the 20 cents change being returned in a variety of ways; ballpoint pens,
matchboxes, sweets or even a credit note from the cashier. Increasingly
though, coins from South Africa are also being used as a stand-in. The rand
is currently trading at about 10 to one dollar, which makes one and
five-rand coins handy substitutes for US coins. However, the rand is
notoriously volatile and a significant strengthening - or weakening - could
involve Zimbabweans scrambling for a replacement.

Whatever the difficulties of managing the dollar, Zimbabweans are emphatic
that they don't want to see the old Zim dollar return. "Under inflation I
used to be a billionaire," a senior Zimbabwean banker told a group of mining
investors recently. "Now, with dollarisation, I'm just a millionaire."

Hot Seat transcript: Irene Petras the director of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights director Irene Petras talks to Violet Gonda

Broadcast 18th July 2013

Listen here

GONDA: My guest on the Hot Seat programme is Irene Petras the director of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the vice-chairperson of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network. Welcome Irene.

PETRAS: Thank you very much Violet.

GONDA: What do you make of the electoral process so far?

PETRAS: Well I think that there’s obviously been a lot of problems with the special voting process, even the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission itself on the first evening of the special voting, raised a number of issues of concern. Those didn’t seem to have been addressed over the next 24 hours and beyond and we did receive a lot of information about confusion and a lot of disorder in the way the electoral process was being carried out all around the country, so I think there are a lot of question marks about how the special voting took place and even now people are not really sure about the outcome and what exactly has happened with that special voting process.

GONDA: In most places there were no materials for voting and polling stations did not open early. Was all this unforeseen – this chaos? Or is it all deliberate?

PETRAS: I think to some extent ZEC underestimated the nature of the exercise and they didn’t put in place enough mechanisms to ensure that they would be ready for this special voting, although in terms of the law they are required to make sure that they are ready on the first day of the vote before the polling stations open so right from the beginning there was a contravention of the Electoral Act through those processes. I think that they didn’t realize how complicated the system was going to be especially with people voting for, in most cases, three different candidates – the presidential, the parliamentary and then the local government candidates as well. But because of the lack of adequate information made available to political parties, to accredited observers and the public in general and even those who were supposed to be voting themselves – a lot of question marks are being raised as to whether or not it was just inability for them to be organized in time or whether there was something a bit more suspicious about the whole exercise.

GONDA: And special voting was only supposed to take two days and that was on Sunday and Monday but I understand that some of the polling stations closed on Tuesday instead of ending on Monday. What did you make of that?

PETRAS: Yes we did receive reports from different polling stations around the country that they had not closed on time. I myself even witnessed police still milling around outside Mount Pleasant Hall in Harare and also Town House. Obviously there was a lot of chaos and a lot of people who still hadn’t voted so we couldn’t even get close to the entrance of the polling station in some of the cases. There’s a lot of confusion about it and I think the fact that ZEC itself didn’t come out today and make any statements, clarify what was happening, raised a lot of concerns.

GONDA: And ZEC, by law, should have made an announcement especially about the extension – isn’t that what is required by law?

PETRAS: When they issued the notice for the special voting, they had indicated the times for which the polling stations were supposed to be open: they were supposed to be open from seven in the morning until seven at night. We did hear some unconfirmed reports that they had then directed that the polling stations should remain open, in some cases we heard that is was up until 12 midnight on Monday. In other cases we also heard, but again unconfirmed, that they had made a directive that from the time polling stations started to receive ballot papers they should remain open 12 hours from that point. But again because they haven’t come out clearly and indicated what has happened I think that we’re bound by the notice that they gave in terms of the law and they need to justify any extension that was given.

GONDA: So the fact that ZEC has not come out clearly to say what is happening or even if they extended the special vote, what does this mean in terms of transparency?

PETRAS: Well obviously it raises concerns. I think that in any electoral process people deserve to know what is happening. Obviously this is an election people have been anticipating for a long time, there has not been a lot of public confidence in previous elections and we would have hoped that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission would have put in place systems to ensure that public confidence would be there, that people would know what processes were going on, what exactly was unfolding as the days progressed. Unfortunately that was not done and I think that’s why a lot of questions are being raised now.

GONDA: What about in terms of abiding to the provisions of the Electoral Act if days were extended, what does that mean in terms of the law?

PETRAS: I think that will be something that would have to be argued legally in the courts, I wouldn’t be able to comment on that right now. I think first we need to hear from ZEC what exactly has happened in terms of which law or procedures or regulations they were acting and then it will be a bit easier to see what happens moving forward.

GONDA: I understand that quite a number of officers were turned away even though their applications to vote had been approved so would they be allowed to participate in the general elections since they failed to vote in this first round?

PETRAS: Well again that’s questionable because the Electoral Act indicates that those who have been approved to vote by special vote will not be able to cast a vote on the 31^st of July but again we have to wait and see what has happened, how many people are affected. We don’t even have an indication of the numbers of people who were able to cast their votes around the country yet so I think we have to wait for that information and see but as the law stands at the moment, those who were approved for the special vote should not be able to vote on the 31^st.

GONDA: So ZEC has not made available statistics of those who voted and those who were turned away?

PETRAS: Not publically to my knowledge, we only heard from ZEC on the evening of the first day of voting. At that briefing we were just told how many ballot papers had been sent to different polling stations in the different provinces but no indications of how many people had voted. They have undertaken to provide that information in due course but we haven’t received that formally from the Commission.

GONDA: And what does the Electoral Act say if a person’s application was approved and then they failed to vote because they were turned away because the polling station closed early or there were no voting materials – will they be allowed though to participate in the elections even though it was not their fault that they failed to vote during the special voting process?

PETRAS: Well unfortunately I don’t think when the laws were drafted, they anticipated this kind of a situation so the law is silent on that. All it says is that those who have been approved will vote on days of special voting and not on the day when the rest of the country will vote. So again I think we will have to wait and see what exactly has happened and how in terms of the law, ZEC is going to proceed if they do want to deal with the issue of people who weren’t able to cast their votes because of the confusion.

GONDA: What mechanisms are there to make sure there’s no double voting?

PETRAS: The normal electoral processes are there so those who would have voted on the days of special voting have received the indelible ink on their fingers and also the Electoral Commission is required to cross out the names of all the people who have been approved for the special vote on the national voters roll, so by the time we come to the 31^st of July, if you go to a specific ward, all the polling stations in that ward should have the name of that person who has voted during the special vote, crossed out and marked with an SV to indicate that they were part of the special voting procedure. So essentially if somebody were to go on the 31^st of July and try and vote, then their name would already have been crossed out on the voters roll.

GONDA: And is this an electronic voters roll? By this I’m asking how will people know that the same people didn’t go to another polling station?

PETRAS: Well those questions have been raised with ZEC and they have assured those who have asked the questions that they are going to cancel out those votes on the hard copies. I’m not exactly sure how they’re going to do it on the electronic roll but usually when we go to the polls there’s a hard copy of the voters roll at each polling station so at each polling station in a particular ward, that name should be crossed out. So the measures that are put in place is that people are supposed to have access to the list of people who are approved for this special vote and they should then be able to look at that and then look at the overall voters roll and make sure that the names have been cancelled out on that main role.

GONDA: Some reports say that the process was tiring for observers who at times had to spend 24 hours without a break at some polling stations. What challenges did you have to face as monitoring groups?

PETRAS: Some of the polling stations which I visited, the electoral agents weren’t present at the polling station and the challenge now came for the observers because there’s a limit to the number of observers who can be in any polling station at any particular time so that restricted the numbers of observers who could actually be inside the polling station. But the main issue is that everybody should ensure that enough people are accredited so that they can even take shifts to be able to observe what is happening and to keep up with the process on a regular basis. Obviously because of the challenges over the two days of the special votes, maybe people were not ready for that but there should be a system in place to ensure that at all times there are people who in the polling station and they can be relieved so that there’s a continuous observation of that process and what’s going on.

GONDA: And so generally what lessons have you learned as monitoring groups?

PETRAS: We’ve been observing through the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, elections for many years now and I think that the observers are well trained, they’ve been through the processes before and they do a very good job. Most of the presiding officers, the polling officers who come from the Electoral Commission have also been trained and they’ve been doing the work for a long time so there’s usually cooperation during the process. I think there just needs to be continued cooperation, communication and access to information which is required about different stages of the electoral process. This puts people at ease, it reduces tension, it increases public confidence and it makes sure that the moment that you have information about what is happening, it just calms people down and makes them understand the electoral process. I think one of the challenges that we’ve had in the lead up to this election is the inability for a very comprehensive voter education process. Civil society organizations have not been able to carry out voter education, very few organizations were accredited to carry out that kind of education and ZEC itself only was able to roll out a programme through their voter educators very late. So I don’t think there’s a lot of information, we also don’t get a lot of concise, precise and accurate information from the media about how these processes are supposed to work so hopefully from now until the 31^st of July I would hope that there would be an increase in advising people, educating them about what the process requires, what is happening, what they need to bring with them when they go to vote – all of those things will be done so that people will be well aware of what is happening and that will reduce incidents of possible problems at polling stations on the 31^st of July.

GONDA: In terms of monitors, because ZESN and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, as you said, you’ve been doing this for many years but can you just briefly describe to us what exactly does your work entail?

PETRAS: In terms of the law there’s a maximum of six observers who can go into a polling station at any time so obviously the observers need to be spread out to make sure that they cover as many polling stations as possible and there’s also the issues of international observers, regional observers, there’s quite a contingent of observers from the SADC Election Observation Mission and many others around. So the numbers are restricted but basically the observers are trained just to be able to watch how the process unfolds, to see whether the materials are available or whether that particular polling station is ready to have elections, the secrecy of the ballot is protected and obviously just to see how many people are coming in, how many are voting and how many are turned away so it’s really a general observation of the entire process and then they will obviously continue with looking at how the counting process goes, how the results are posted outside polling stations, how they are transmitted up the chain up to the national centre and eventually the announcement of the results.

GONDA: In the last election some observer teams especially from the region were criticized for failing to report thoroughly on the process. How confident are you that they will get it right this time round?

PETRAS: Well I think it really depends on how thorough the particular election observation mission is. Obviously with organizations that have been working on elections for a long time, we make sure that the evidence we have or the information that we have is verified before it goes out so that it is reliable. I did attend the launch of the SADC Election Observation Mission yesterday and I have to say that I felt confidence from the head of the Mission that they understand how critical this election is, the importance of making sure that they oversee everything that is happening and that they get information from a range of different stake holders and that they ensure that voters are able to cast their ballot freely and secretly and also that the process will ensure that the will of the people at the end of the day is respected. So I think as long as there’s engagement, interaction, information is shared with those observation missions, then I remain hopeful that they understand the seriousness of this election as any election really is and that we’ll see a positive outcome just from having the observers on the ground.

GONDA: Some say ZEC should release the official special voting list which is supposed to be open for scrutiny to the public – will you demand this as monitors?

PETRAS: It has already been requested and as you say, in terms of the law, people are supposed to have access to that. The chairperson of the Commission had undertaken that the list would be available, we haven’t had access to that list yet, I’m not sure about the political parties but obviously we will continue to request that we see that list because I think that it’s an important part of making sure that that process is seen to be transparent and people can ensure that their worries about double voting and that kind of thing can be allayed if there’s enough information for people to work with.

GONDA: With what you have seen so far, will ZEC be able to conduct credible elections at the end of this month?

PETRAS: Well I think that obviously they have underestimated the process of the special vote and the manner in which it has been conducted thus far has raised some serious concerns and some legitimate concerns about their ability to be able to carry out a proper process on the 31^st of July. I do believe that there are some people within the Commission who want to ensure that the process goes well but I also believe that there are others who may not be as willing to ensure that there’s the transparency and the accountability and the professionalism that’s there. Civil society for a long time has been calling for reforms to be taken both in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and also the Registrar General’s Office particularly when it comes to issues around the voters roll, voter registration and that kind of thing and the way that the last three days have unfolded somehow highlights the need for those reforms to take place. I hope that it won’t be too late but a lot of it will depend on how ZEC proceeds from here, how willing they are to ensure that different mechanisms are put in place to strengthen the process and how willing they are to share information which legitimately people are asking for about what has happened over the last three days.

GONDA: Thank you very much Irene Petras for talking to us on the programme Hot Seat.

PETRAS: Thanks so much Violet.

Time has almost run out

http://www.cathybuckle.com/

July 20, 2013, 8:12 am

Dear Family and Friends,

We are is in a dizzy spin of contrasts as we hurtle towards elections. In my
home town it started with an MDC rally. ‘We weren’t forced, to go! We went
because we wanted to,’ everyone was saying the day after the election rally.
Thousands attended, they wanted to see Prime Minister Tsvangirai and his
team in the flesh. ‘There were so many people and such a huge noise from
the cheering, whistling and singing, that we thought the stands in the
stadium were going to collapse,’ people said. Everyone was wearing bright
red and everyone seemed to be smiling. The next day you could almost feel
the town smiling; things felt better, brighter, hopeful. The questions
everywhere were the same: ‘Did you go? Are you registered to vote?’

A week later the Zanu PF rally came to town and the difference was dramatic.
From before eight in the morning the trucks and buses started arriving for
the ‘star’ rally. They were coming from the direction of Harare and were
packed full of people, strangers to the town. For the next five hours the
trucks kept on coming and coming and they were all crammed full. In most of
the open trucks there seemed to be a couple of cheer leaders standing at the
top of the trucks nearest to the cab and their job was to stir people up.
You could see these young men rousing the passengers, leading them into
bouts of singing, chanting and sloganeering. When the cheer leaders went
quiet so did the people squashed into the open trucks, exposed to the
elements. By lunchtime the entire town was deserted. Almost all the shops
were closed, the usual vegetable vendors and pavement sellers had
disappeared. Offering someone a lift they quickly, unusually said: ‘no
thanks, it’s not safe for blacks to be seen with whites today.’ The word on
the street was that if you wanted to stay safe you had two choices: put that
Zanu PF cap on and go to the rally or get out sight, lock your door and don’t
be seen.

A little before 5 pm it was all over and thousands of people poured out on
the streets. Some were lucky and managed to get a place in the trucks
returning to Harare. Most were not, the trucks they came in had already
gone. People stood five and six deep along the highway trying to get lifts
back to Haraare, a long, cold, dark 80 kilometres away. The next day
strangers were still trying to flag down lifts to the capital city. That
day the feeling in town was one of relief that it was over and sympathy for
thousands of strangers who had sat on the ground for hours and hours,
without water, food or even able to go to the toilet.

As town by town the rallies come and go and emotions swing wildly from
elation and delight to cold, quiet fear, everyone breathes a sigh of relief
when the politicians leave town. For a few more days until the elections we
can pretend to be normal, pretend that everything’s going to be OK. We’ve
given up pretending that it’s going to be a free and fair poll or that the
voters roll isn’t cooked. No one’s got any confidence in the polling process
after watching the mayhem and chaos of the early voting for security forces
and election personnel which left less than 50% being able to cast a ballot.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai hit the nail on the head when he said: "If ZEC
cannot handle 87,000 [special] voters, how will it handle 6 million voters
on July 31?" It’s a question we all want the answer to, but time has almost
run out. Until next time, thanks for reading, love cathy.

SA calls mini SADC summit on Zim