South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged President Jacob Zuma to back the call for an independent audit of last week’s elections in Zimbabwe.
August 8, 2013 – NewsDay Zimbabwe
In this regard, Zuma should ask for an urgent meeting of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said yesterday.
Zuma should “back Botswana’s proposal for an independent audit of the 2013 Zimbabwean election, to be conducted without any further delays”, she told media at Parliament in Cape Town.
There was sufficient evidence from Sadc, the African Union, civil society organisations and the DA’s own observers proving the election was not free and fair.
Earlier this week, the Botswana government issued a statement in which it called for an independent audit of the election.
Mazibuko said Zuma should retract his position that the elections in Zimbabwe were “successful” and “harmonised”, and indicate his government’s concern with the numerous reports of vote rigging by the ruling Zanu PF party.
Zimbabwe’s July 31 parliamentary and presidential poll saw President Robert Mugabe secure his seventh term in office since coming to power in 1980.
Mugabe garnered 61% of the votes. Outgoing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai won 34%.
In the parliamentary poll, Zanu-PF won 160 out of 210 seats.
In a statement issued at yestersday’s media briefing, the DA said there were several factors that had contributed towards the election not being fair.
These included that a substantial number of people voted with voter registration slips even though they did not appear on the voters’ roll.
Further, some voters were “frog-marched . . . to vote under the guard of traditional leaders”.
Asked if, given the margin of the victory by Mugabe and
Zanu PF, the problems raised by the DA would have made a difference to the actual outcome of the election, party MP Ian Davidson said he could not say.
“That’s an open question,” he responded.
Mazibuko said her party’s concern was not the results of the election.
“Our concern is not the outcome; our concern is the election itself. Going into it, Zimbabweans were not prepared for an election which would be free and fair, properly presided over and that effectively rendered their will at the ballot box,” she said.
According to some media reports, despite some real concerns about the election process, even if it had been considered “free and fair”, victory would have gone to Mugabe.
“Opposition concerns about the election amount to more than sour grapes. But the fact is that many voters chose Robert Mugabe,” the UK’s The Guardian newspaper said earlier this week.
The United States, UK, and the European Union have all voiced concern over alleged irregularities in the running of the Zimbabwe poll.
COMMENTS
Did pple of afria knws wat DA stands for if u dnt just as ,me ths means Deviding Afria mazibuko had knw ryts to coment abt zimbabwe firstly she must knw hw to wear when shz in parliament then she can make any coment abt zim tht is our country wit dignity so she has to lay dwn her heard
You shameless idiot! Zanu will pay one day! That was a mother if all frauds. Who in their right minds would vote fr an old donkey.
Which school did you go to ,, I think you need to repeat your grades so that you know the meaning of DA. Go back to school stupid idiot!!!
“… the fact is that many voters chose Robert Mugabe,” the UK’s The Guardian newspaper said earlier this week
utter rubbish – this election was so rigged that its official result has no meaning at all. A huge portion of the electorate was disenfranchised before voting even got underway. “Voters” (some of them clearly not even of voting age) were being bussed around to further falsify results in MDC strongholds.
(http://vimeo.com/71455891).
The voters roll contained many thousands of people that died decades ago and underrepresented the young to a truly ludicrous extent. MDC activists were intimidated and in some cases abducted and tortured. This is just one of numerous examples:
http://vimeo.com/71949603
If Zuma rubber-stamps this farce, he’ll jeopardise any credibility the SADC has left.
May I recommend this article from the Jewish Daily Forward: http://blogs.forward.com/forward-thinking/181670/robert-mugabes-made-in-israel-landslide/
which raises some pertinent questions.
Any speculation as to whether or not MDC would have had a full majority if the elections hadn’t been rigged, or had been rigged a bit less, or a bit less obviously, is futile. This election is a sham, a travesty, an injustice and a criminal act. End of story.
I dare them publish the names of all who voted from the voters roll and its also a basis for compiling a new voters roll .those who dont appear will then register.people can also tell if these people were genuine
Joe u are a man that’s a fact let there be a list and we can tell who is dead and who is alive so that we live better the life we deserve. Remember God is our father and he knows how to handle our situation. I am pray for zim a rich country. Zim origin
Useful article: the comment by DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko is entirely appropriate and I am glad that the DA is reminding South African leaders of their responsibility in this.
Zuma’s smarmy complicity in the shameful Zimbabwean ‘election’ demonstrates a sanctioning of kleptocracy in favour of nepotism that reaches new levels of disgraceful ‘leadership’. Grumpy intelligently points out the compelling evidence that the conclusions drawn by the UK Guardian article that “… the fact is that many voters chose Robert Mugabe” is absolute nonsense in this context. The fact is that this so-called ‘election’ was so badly rigged in so many ways that no-one really knows the extent of the outfall. Has anyone considered to add in the fact that the Zimbabwean diaspora vote of c. 3-4 million, which should have been facilitated a/c SADC, if added to the other omissions, tricks, intimidatory tactics and manipulations of the voters’ roll, would together add up to around 5.6 million votes, most likely all additional votes for the opposition parties? The fact is that Bob lost the ‘election’ in reality, the whole thing is a lie and a sham. Grumpy is right: the Zimbabwean ‘election’ of 31st July was “a travesty, an injustice and a criminal act.”
The truth be said it is a myth to me that elections were rigged as long as the evidence being presented is to the contary. I participated in the just ended polls and i know there was no cheating, the environment was conducive but the mdc decided to be urban, some ministers from the mdc did not perform well especially biti who used foul language to the civil servants’s demend for a pay rise. The major weakness that affected the mdcs was their failure to form a grand coalition for some reasons best known to themselves. In nkayi north the party would have won had they formed a grand coalition. Like in many constituences in matabeleland zanu pf succeeded in the the spliting of votes that occured between the opposition. Let me be parctical here in a constituency were there are 10000 people lets assume zanu pf has 4000 supporters who vote for it and the opposition have the remainder splt among themseves like this mdc n has 2000 supporters, mdc t has 3800 and zapu the remainder. In such a scenario zanu pf wins by default. Lets face the fact the mdc was too complacent to put its house in order in preparation for elections. It is high time we look at facts on the ground and precisely justify our arguments than to swim on allegations of rigging which we can not justfy. How really can we reverse a two thirds election victory zanu pf ganered for an election re run. Seriously let them be allowed to rule and pray that they do things right not minding what the part has done previously. Zanu pf must be given a chance as the mandate given to them by the people during elections says so.
In the near future, Zimbabweans will ask, just like South Africans are asking, “WHERE WAS THE WHOLE WORLD WHEN MUGABE WAS TERRORIZING HIS OWN PEOPLE?”. “WHERE WAS THE WHOLE WORLD WHEN MANDELA WAS IN PRISON FOR 27 YEARS” This is a world that does not care at all. As a Zimbabwean I remain vulnerable to all evil; games of the ZANU- PF government against Zimbabweans which the party sees as opponents. Where is the World when we are suffering, I ask
Elections may hve been rigged elswhere not in gokwe the mdc doesnt exist.the so called supporters of mdc never bothered to register only to appear on the day of voting is that rigging mdc candidates never campained they thought hunger would do it fo them not in 2013 better luck next time viva gushungo
Zimbabwean election results do in totality reflect the will of the majority of the Zimbabwean people. The vote rigging saga is just a way of seeking a justifiable stepping down by the outgoing Prime Minister after he spent much of his time galavanting with women, small girls and criticizing President Mugabe’ s age as a President while the old man was busy campaigning. Mr (outgoing) Prime Minister and Co just i let you know: the people of Zimbabwe voted Zanu PF based on policy and not age as they did not put Mugabe in the Presidency becouse he was young 33 years ago. How on earth could Manu PF or ZEC would have known of the people claiming to have been returned that they where going to vote for Zanu PF, MDC-T or any other party….? Criticizing the opponent does not make you look better. Enticing the people of Zimbabwe to make the country ungovernable is a criminal offence and hence even people from your own MDC are not taking your call previously I would then advice you to keep your big gag zipped and leave the country if you don’t like what the majority of the country wish of their land and resources. It’s called democracy Sir.
Lindiwe Mazibuko of DA should know better. It is a disgrace that Mazibuko thinks that oppression is more felt by observers than the oppressed. The people of Zimbabwe would have embarked into a war had it be that what is being reported being the case on the streets of Zim.
Mdc lost please dont waste our time we want progress. If it had one u will be in cloud 9 praising zec but the fact that Mdc got tallies frm its members agents that they had lost described the election as a farce. Wake up u pple it wont change anything. Just accept defeat.
To start with let me say I am no trabalism as much as I am no racist unlike ZANU-PF and its bunch. Who in their right mind would really believe that the people of matabeleland would vote for Mugabe? This is the same Mugabe who butchered their fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, uncles, sons, daughters etc. This is the same Mugabe who has stopped them from giving a decent burial to their loved ones, the very person who has seen the demise of the very heart of Bulawayo by totally neglecting the whole region. The very same Mugabe who questions why people of this regions have to go and look for work in South Africa meaning he has no clue about the suffering of these people. If you truely believe the people of Bulawayo are that forgiving to someone who has not even bothered saying I am sorry then you need to get your head examined. Mugabe will get away with the murders and election stealing but lets wait and see how those who remain after he departs to meet the devil will fare. I pray that I live to see the day they will take him to the so called heroe’s acre, the place in which the true liberators of Zimbabwe are out numbers beyond words by the devils, thieves, murderers and the most evil people ever produced in our beloved country. I will wait but my day of celebration is not too far, every dog has his day. Long live Zimbabwe.
Thank you Ian.Well said.
Truly i had much respect to Mr Zuma ,only after he hailed that ugly ruthless dictator who will not go anywhere,the will of the people shall prevail.