Source: ‘Kenya provides poll lessons for Zim’ – DailyNews Live
Tendai Kamhungira 4 September 2017
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s opposition and Judiciary must learn from the Kenyan
election experience, where the courts nullified results that had declared
Uhuru Kenyatta the winner ahead of National Super Alliance (Nasa)’s Raila
Odinga, following objections.
Last Friday, Kenya’s Supreme Court nullified the August 8 presidential
election won by Kenyatta, following a petition by Odinga.
The court then ordered the holding of fresh elections in the next 60 days,
in a landmark ruling in that country and a precedent in African politics.
However, what is captivating in the Kenyan election story is that the
political developments are just like a script plucked from the Zimbabwean
book.
Looking at the characters, Kenyatta is like President Robert Mugabe, while
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai represents Odinga, and by fate the two
opposition leaders are close confidantes.
Only recently, Tsvangirai was in Kenya, where he met Odinga for a possible
exchange of notes and ideas.
Zimbabwe and Kenya are congruent in many ways, when it comes to the
political situation, where both Odinga and Tsvangirai have once complained
about electoral fraud and violence that killed thousands of their
supporters.
And as the script goes, without chances of missing a part, both have once
been prime ministers of their respective countries following the formation
of governments of national unity in the respective countries.
From these governments of national unity, Mugabe, just like Kenyatta
emerged victorious in contested elections, with accusations of a
compromised electoral commission and process.
Both countries are now using the biometric voter registration system, with
Kenyatta reportedly manipulating the system through power of incumbency.
However, they may be separated by the stark differences in the autonomy of
their Judiciary system, with many believing Zimbabwe’s is biased towards
long-ruling Mugabe’s Zanu PF.
Respected political analyst, Eldred Masunungure, said the Kenyan election
story is a big lesson to the Zimbabwean opposition, if ever it wants to
contest the outcome of any election.
“I think the Judiciary was compelled by the weight of evidence that Odinga
provided. The lesson to be learnt is that the opposition has to compile
enough evidence, as much as possible, in the event that it would want to
appeal against the outcome of an election.
“What tilted the scale in Odinga’s favour was the evidence that spoke for
itself. You need strong, bullet proof evidence if you are to challenge the
electoral body, like in our case the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec),”
Masunungure said.
However, another political analyst, Maxwell Saungweme, said instead, it is
Zimbabwe’s Judiciary that has to learn from the Kenyan situation, if it is
to stamp authority and gain autonomy.
“Without reading too much into it, it tells us of how a bold Judiciary can
change the fate of countries and guard against the stealing of the
people’s will through electoral fraud. Zimbabwe’s judges have a lot to
learn from that.
“The case is encouraging and sets a required precedent for electoral
petitions. I am not sure Zimbabwe’s judicial system will get to that
stage soon, as most judges who sit on the bench are staunch Zanu PF
members and supporters,” he said.
Zimbabwe is expected to conduct its elections in less than a year, with
the opposition, just like in Kenya, forming a coalition that will battle
it out with 93-year-old Mugabe.
There are, however, fears of yet another contested outcome that will take
Zimbabwe the Kenya way, even though the outcome is unlikely to be the
same.
Political commentator, Rashweat Mukundu said another lesson from the Kenya
election is that despite the faith people bestow in the electronic voting
system, it can be tempered with as well.
“Kenya shows that even electronic systems can be tempered with and we now
wonder how prepared Zec is, dogged by controversy and lack of
transparency. While Kenya has a courageous Judiciary, this may not
necessarily be the case with Zimbabwe,” he said.
Meanwhile, the MDC, Zimbabwe’s biggest opposition political party,
welcomed the development in Kenya, calling it historic and
ground-breaking.
“We would like to applaud the Judiciary in Kenya for being bold and
independent enough to come up with this kind of ruling in a very high
profile and politically sensitive case. Many a time, here in Zimbabwe, the
people have been denied the opportunity to freely and fairly choose a
government of their choice.
“The people of Zimbabwe will remember that the 2002 MDC presidential
election petition is still pending, more than 15 years after it was filed
in the courts of law. This is a classic example of the bastardisation of
the rule of law in Zimbabwe,” the MDC said.
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