Mugabe sets election date, Ncube & Tsvangirai cry foul

Robert Mugabe accused of frog marching Zimbabweans towards another 'illegitimate and violent' election

http://www.independent.co.uk/

President invokes powers to bypass parliament and declare elections to be
held by the end of July
DANIEL HOWDEN    THURSDAY 13 JUNE 2013

President Robert Mugabe has been accused of “frog marching” Zimbabweans
towards another “illegitimate and violent” election after unilaterally
declaring 31 July as polling day.

Morgan Tsvangirai, his political rival and prime minister in the power
sharing government that followed the last election, has opposed snap
elections saying they would violate the country's new constitution.

Mr Tsvangirai, who was informed by letter of the election date warned that
key reforms to the media, security services and voters' roll had not been
carried out. He fears that the push for early elections aims to exploit
loopholes that will allow his opponents to rig the election. The prime
minister said the earliest legal date for an election was 25 August. He
described the attempt to push through an early vote as “a clear, flagrant
and fraudulent breach of our Constitution.”

Earlier in the day Mr Mugabe unilaterally changed several aspects of the
election law including reducing the registration period, which began on
Monday from 30 days to 17. Zimbabwe's highest court surprised observers in
May by calling for elections to be held no later than the end of June
despite a host of agreed reforms still waiting to be implemented. The
89-year-old Mr Mugabe is a past master of using procedure to throttle any
challenge to his authority. The bulk of the reforms agreed to in peace talks
five years ago, mediated by South Africa, have been hollowed out or entirely
ignored.

The old political foes have been been locked in a dysfunctional unity
government that was agreed under pressure from regional powers including
South Africa in the aftermath of violent and disputed elections in 2008. Mr
Tsvangirai won the first round of the last polls but withdrew from a run-off
against Mr Mugabe after a concerted campaign of violence and intimidation
against his supporters.

Despite delivering some comparative economic stability, Mr Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change has had little influence over the courts, the
media or the security services which are still controlled completely by the
president's Zany-PF party. An extraordinary summit of regional leaders has
been called to discuss the forthcoming elections but has twice been delayed
to accommodate Mr Mugabe.

“It is now clear that President Mugabe called for the postponement in order
to go to SADC with a done deal of an election date,” said Mr Tsvangirai.
“Thus clearly, President Mugabe has sought to render the forthcoming SADC
summit a dead rubber and a talk show.”

MDC T files court application to challenge Mugabe’s proclamation

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Violet Gonda
SW Radio Africa
13 June 2013

The credibility of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is
going to be tested over the weekend as they decide to what extent they will
contest President Robert Mugabe’s unilateral decision to hold elections on
the 31st of July, in contradiction of the Global Political Agreement of
which SADC is a guarantor.

MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told SW Radio Africa his party has filed an
urgent court application challenging the legality of what the President has
done.

“We are not appealing against the Constitutional Court decision per se. We
are saying the constitution has not been followed and the Constitutional
Court must examine or review whether the constitution has been followed by
the action of Mugabe,” Mwonzora said.

The MDC formations in the inclusive government are set to present the
regional leaders with a dossier of complaints, highlighting violations of
previous agreements, at the extraordinary summit on Zimbabwe in Maputo on
Saturday.

Analysts say Mugabe’s clever use of the constitutional court, combined with
his presidential powers, has allowed him to by-pass the GPA process and any
objections that SADC might raise.  But MDC President Welshman Ncube said:
“The ball is now in SADC’s court, do they accept to be deceived this way? Do
they accept the brazen contempt against them? If SADC allows Mugabe to get
away with this, it would be a very, very sad indictment on them.

“On our part, we will go to SADC on Saturday and place it on record that we
feel cheated by the scoundrels in Zanu PF.”

Analyst Piers Pigou from the International Crisis Group said Mugabe’s
actions have profound political implications, with a range of different
interpretations. He said it would appear to be part of the ongoing
“brinkmanship” that has been seen, particularly from ZANU PF in the last few
months – a political game to strengthen his hand at the SADC summit around
the disputed reform agenda.

“I think it is going to be absolutely critical to see whether the five
(opposition) political parties come together as they did last week and issue
a joint statement in response to this.

“A joint statement from the five political parties will, I think, make SADC
sit up and take note and make for a more robust engagement at the SADC
summit in terms of what SADC is going to be able to mediate,” Pigou said.

MDC99 leader Job Sikhala blamed the crisis on all the political actors in
the inclusive government. He said: “Those people who have been with ZANU PF
in the inclusive government are stupid. They have betrayed the people of
Zimbabwe. We have been expecting Welshman Ncube and Morgan Tsvangirai to
force ZANU PF to have political reforms. They have been in this government
and have never done anything. The three political parties are responsible
for the crisis. For five years I never thought they would bring to the table
this nonsense.”

Mugabe fast-tracks election laws, by-passes parliament

Reuters – 8 hours ago

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe fast-tracked changes
to electoral laws on Thursday, using a presidential decree to by-pass
parliament in a bid to comply with a constitutional court order to hold
elections by July 31.

The move is likely to enrage his opponents in a unity government, especially
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) party which wants a delay to allow for reform of the media and
security forces.

Mugabe has been pushing for early elections, saying the unity government
formed in 2009 after violent and disputed vote the previous year has
outlived its tenure.

"Given the deadline imposed by the Constitutional Court, it is inexpedient
to await the passage through Parliament of an act dealing with the
situation," Mugabe said in an official government notice.

The amended electoral laws ensure that all political parties have access to
the state broadcaster and that the results of elections will be posted
outside polling centres.

Robert Mugabe fast tracks Zimbabwe election laws

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Robert Mugabe has sparked outrage in Zimbabwe and warnings of a
constitutional crisis by invoking presidential powers to bypass parliament
and declare elections to be held by the end of July.

By Aislinn Laing, Peta Thornycroft in Johannesburg
1:26PM BST 13 Jun 2013

It is the first time Mr Mugabe has issued a presidential decree since the
formation of a coalition government with his rival Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai in 2009.

Mr Tsvangirai responded by accusing Mr Mugabe of acting “unlawfully and
unconstitutionally”, and threatening to boycott the polls.

"As prime minister I cannot and will not accept this,” he told a press
conference in Harare. "Mugabe is deliberately precipitating a constitutional
crisis."

Some commentators say Mr Mugabe may be seeking to steal a march on his
opposition rivals. Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change has lost
some support since forming a coalition with Mr Mugabe's Zanu PF, and a July
31 poll will give the MDC scant time to rally more voters.

Others believe he intends to force a watering down of reforms stipulated as
part of the coalition agreement made in 2008 after that year’s violent
elections.

There are fears that if regional mediators do not intervene to force a
political solution to the impasse at a summit in Maputo this weekend,
Zimbabwe once again see electoral chaos after several years of a tentative
peace.

In a letter on State House headed notepaper, dated June 13 and obtained by
The Daily Telegraph, Mr Mugabe told Mr Tsvangirai he was bound by a ruling
of the Constitutional Court that elections be held by July 31 because of the
expiry of the coalition agreement.

"In my capacity as President of Zimbabwe, I hereby inform you I have today
issued a proclamation calling for the holding of harmonised elections, and
fixing June 28th 2013 as the date for the nomination of aspiring candidates,
and July 31st as the date for holding the polls,” he said.

Mr Mugabe added that because of the Constitutional Court ruling – which has
been challenged by opposition parties as the court was created by the new
constitution and, they say, does not yet have legal weight – it was
“inexpedient” to wait for reforms.

“Accordingly, I found it appropriate to invoke the Presidential Powers Act
in order to comply with the order given by the Constitutional Court,” he
wrote.

Speaking at a hastily-convened press conference in Harare, Prime Minister
Tsvangirai said he would not accept a situation in which Zimbabweans were
"railroaded" into "another illegitimate election".

He said that under the coalition agreement, Mr Mugabe had no right to make
unilateral decisions, and was not allowing enough time for a 30-day voter
registration process.

He also reiterated his call for reforms agreed under the coalition deal
which stipulates that broadcast media be accessible to all political
parties, and that the traditionally pro-Zanu PF police and army subscribe to
a code of conduct.

"I appeal to fellow Zimbabwean to remain calm but vigilant in the face of
this provocation and illegality. History has taught us that evil never
triumphs and the way of truth will always triumph," he said.

Welshman Ncube, the leader of the MDC-M political party which makes up the
third member of the coalition, said negotiations in cabinet this week had
suggested that Mr Mugabe would comply with due process.

It followed the postponement of a Southern African Development Community due
last weekend after Mr Mugabe said he was too busy to attend. Zimbabwe has
previously asked South Africa, the SADC-nominated lead negotiator on
Zimbabwe, for money to hold the polls.

"Now we know the postponement of the summit by Mugabe was deliberate so they
could go to the summit with a fait accompli," he told The Daily Telegraph.

"What they have done is unlawful. What the Supreme Court said about the
election date was unlawful. But there is no chance on going back on this as
there is collusion between the court and the politicians.

"I don't know if SADC will have the courage to stand up to Mugabe and
withhold money for elections. I doubt it. We have been treated with
contempt."

Lindiwe Zulu, President Jacob Zuma’s lead negotiator on Zimbabwe, said they
were studying Mr Mugabe’s declaration.

“SADC is concerned that there should be an election that is nowhere near
what happened in 2008,” she told The Daily Telegraph. “At the end of the
day, there are three parties in the coalition and SADC wants to see those
three parties being in agreement rather than unilateral decisions.”

Piers Pigou, the International Crisis Group’s Zimbabwe analyst, said Mr
Mugabe was hiding behind the “fig leaf” of the court.

“We see this as part of the brinkmanship that’s been ongoing throughout in
terms of resisting reforms and pushing agendas,” he said.

“There is a real opportunity in Zimbabwe to build confidence in the
integrity of electoral institutions and processes, a real chance to do this
properly.

“Rushing into elections will fundamentally undermine those opportunities.
The ICG doesn’t believe that the conditions in Zimbabwe are appropriate for
a free and fair election at this juncture, let alone a transparent, peaceful
and credible election.”

Mr Mugabe's spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Zanu PF MPs query July 31

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Chengetayi Zvauya, Parliamentary Editor
Thursday, 13 June 2013 18:15
HARARE - Some Zanu PF lawmakers joined their MDC counterparts yesterday in
querying the feasibility of holding harmonised elections by July 31 as
directed by the Constitutional Court last month.

Eric Matinenga, minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs was
bombarded with questions in the House of Assembly by legislators from
President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
MDC, who wanted clarification on the practicability of the Constitutional
Court ruling.

Jealousy Mawarire, a Zimbabwean citizen and director of the Centre for
Elections and Democracy in Southern Africa, on May 2 filed an urgent court
application in the Supreme Court seeking an order directing the President to
proclaim elections to be held no later than June 30.

Claiming that his rights under Section 18 of the then Constitution to have
public officials obey the law had been breached by the failure to proclaim
the elections, he cited Mugabe, Tsvangirai, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara, Welshman Ncube and the attorney-general as respondents.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, with the concurrence of six other judges,
said the constitutional provisions were ambiguous and should be read so as
to avoid a temporary Parliamentary vacuum, which would be “an absurdity” –
so he agreed with Mawarire and the President on this point.

But Chidyausiku then had to take account of the fact that his decision meant
the electoral process was already “derailed” – because it was already too
late to have an election by June 29 and at the same time comply with the
timelines for elections laid down in the Electoral Act and the new
Constitution – factors the Chief Justice referred to as the “exigencies of
the situation”.

So, expressing his “desire to issue an order that will help restore legality
to the electoral process as quickly as possible”, the Chief Justice said he
was inclined to adopt Mawarire’s alternative date but to “add six days to
compensate for the period between the hearing of this appeal and the handing
down of this judgment”.

And that was the basis for the Constitutional Court’s selection of July 31
July as the election deadline and its order to the President “to proclaim as
soon as possible a date(s) for the holding of presidential election, general
election and elections for members of governing bodies of local authorities
in terms of s 58(l) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which elections should
take place by no later than 31 July 2013”.

Webber Chinyadza, MDC MP for Makoni West opened the flood of questions to
Matinenga, pushing for an extension of the July 31 Constitutional Court
deadline to accommodate the necessary reforms and processes.

“With the registration and inspection of the voters’ roll taking place
considering that we have a 30 day registration, I don’t know whether all
this will have input considering the constitutional court ruling?” Chinyadza
asked.

He was immediately backed by Colin Gwiyo, MDC MP for Zengeza West, who asked
Matinenga whether the court’s deadline could be met given the legal niceties
that were necessary before the election.

Zanu PF MPs Fred Kanzama and Bright Matonga also sought to have Matinenga
explain the implementation of the Constitutional Court ruling.

“Is the judgment final, can it not be changed?” Kanzama asked.

Matinenga explained that the court had ruled that elections should be held
by July 31, but said it was not feasible to hold polls by July 31 given the
work that had to be done before the polls in aligning laws to the new
Constitution.

“We can refer to judgement of the Constitutional Court which is final and
obliges the President to proclaim the election date by 31 July, any
government and anyone associated with it is obliged to accept the ruling,”
Matinenga said.

“We don’t want anyone to be in contempt of the ruling, which is impossible
to carry out. There are other routes which can be followed, and the
executive can approach the court seeking court indulgence for an extension
of the date.

“First there is the intensive voter registration that has commenced and it
ends on 9 July taking 30 days. If one factors in the Nomination Court, you
can start to count the days and the nomination is 14 days and it will close
on 24 July. There will be another 30 days for nomination and it will take us
until 25 August which will be the polling day.

“Unfortunately this date clashes with the UNWTO dates and the court has to
be advised on these issues. One has to approach the court with humility
seeking indulgence for an extension order.”

Matonga, the Mhondoro-Ngezi Zanu PF MP asked: “You said that the court was
not given the other information which was hidden when it delivered its
judgment, can this be changed and what was that information?

Matinenga said an extension was possible given that Mugabe had previously
approached the court seeking to extend the dates and days of three Bulawayo
by-elections, an extension he was granted as the MDC litigants wanted the
by-elections to be held 31 October last year.

He also briefed the House that Parliament expires on June 29.

Although the majority judgment has been severely criticised by a number of
distinguished constitutional lawyers, and in the two dissenting judgments,
Veritas, a legal and parliamentary watchdog, says there is no higher court
to overrule that decision, meaning there can be no appeal.

Zimbabwe in crisis as Mugabe sets election for July 31

By Reagan Mashavave | AFP – 2 hours 33 minutes ago

Zimbabwe was plunged into fresh political crisis on Thursday as Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai vowed to fight a unilateral decision by President
Robert Mugabe to hold elections on July 31.

Mugabe used temporary presidential powers to set the date for a vote that
would put an end to their uneasy power-sharing government.

"Today, early in the morning, I received a letter from president Mugabe
(proclaiming)... July 31 as the election day," Tsvangirai said.

"President Mugabe is acting unlawfully and unconstitutionally," said his
long-time political rival. "As prime minister I cannot and will not accept
this."

Tsvangirai vowed to take the matter to court and urged regional leaders to
step in and stop Mugabe.

While Mugabe's move would comply with a constitutional court order to hold
elections by the end of July, the date of the vote is fiercely contested.

Tsvangirai has vowed to veto any election date that comes before democratic
reforms are put into place, fearing Mugabe's ZANU-PF party may once again
attempt to manipulate the vote.

In 2008 Tsvangirai led Mugabe in the first round of the presidential ballot,
but withdrew from the run off amid violence that left scores of supporters
dead and thousands injured.

Tsvangirai called on regional leaders of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) -- which pushed the pair into a unity government after the
violence of 2008 -- to act when they meet in Maputo on Saturday.

"SADC has the responsibility of ensuring that they call the president to
order."

He described Mugabe's move as "an unmitigated frontal and rear attack" on
the 15-member regional grouping.

Under the power-sharing deal Mugabe must consult Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) about the date of the presidential, parliamentary
and local elections.

"The interpretation of the word 'consultation' is a bit of a challenge,"
said Trevor Maisiri of the International Crisis Group.

"If you speak to ZANU-PF they'll say consultation means the president can
ask the principals what they think. With their suggestions he can make a
decision."

"The MDC say 'we'll make the decision together'."

In his tersely worded letter to Tsvangirai, Mugabe justified the use of
extraordinary powers to by-pass normal decision making.

Given the constitutional court deadline he said "it became inexpedient to
await the passage through parliament of the electoral amendment bill".

Lovemore Madhuku, a law professor at the University of Zimbabwe, said Mugabe
had to act in keeping with the ruling of the court.

"The elections must be held," Madhuku said. "As you know the tenure of the
government is about to expire."

While many reforms have been carried out by the power sharing government,
including the passing of a new constitution, Tsvangirai argues that
electoral, media and security laws still need to be implemented to ensure a
free vote.

The reforms include ensuring that the electoral roll is updated with
eligible voters as well as ensuring that the media can report independently
without the fear of being charged for defaming the government.

Some commentators argue that the MDC has much to fear from an early vote.

After spending much of the last four years focused on government rather than
party politics, polls show its star has faded among many voters.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa late Wednesday told foreign diplomats
that Mugabe's failure to set a date, "would set a very dangerous precedent".

Meanwhile he dismissed Tsvangirai's calls for reforms saying ZANU-FP had
also called for the lifting of western sanctions against Mugabe and his
inner circle but little had been done.

"Sanctions have not been lifted. The pirate radio stations, instead of
stopping they have intensified," said Chinamasa, a senior member of Mugabe's
ZANU-PF party.

Fears of rigging as Mudede tinkers with voter registration process

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Nomalanga Moyo
SW Radio Africa
13 June 2013

Just four days into the 30-day voter registration process, there are serious
concerns that the Registrar General’s Office is frustrating efforts by some
Zimbabweans to vote in the forthcoming poll, now set for July 31st.

The campaign kicked off on Monday amid promises by the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) that challenges encountered during the previous 20-day
process, such as the registration of aliens and time limitations, had been
addressed.

However, it has since emerged that on Tuesday scores of villagers from
Goromonzi sought help from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office after
being barred from registering at the local mobile registration centre.

The villagers had been told to go for vetting at army base KGV1, the
privately-owned Daily News reported Wednesday.

“More than 50 people failed to register yesterday on the grounds that they
were aliens and they were sent back home. Some of the elderly who didn’t
have IDs were told to first get clearance from KGVI. People were sent to the
army in order to verify if they do not have criminal records,” Ian Makone,
chief secretary in the Prime Minister’s office, told the newspaper.

Godwin Phiri, leader of Bulawayo-based youth lobby group intsha.com, and who
is himself of foreign parentage, told SW Radio Africa that it was concerning
that people were being turned away.

Phiri said while it could be that the RG’s office genuinely wanted to weed
out criminals by asking those without any form of identification to be
vetted at KGV1, there was a need to ensure that the process did not hinder
people from registering.

“Already we are talking about time constraints, what assurance is there that
the clearance at KGV1 will be done in time for these people to get identity
particulars and be able to register before the nomination court sits?”

Zimbabwe has a significant ‘alien’ population, “and these figures add up if
you consider who stands to lose as a result of the ‘alien’ vote, Phiri said.

“In mining areas for example, there is a high ‘alien’ population and most of
these people employed are most likely to be members of a trade union.

“So, pitted against a party whose roots are in trade unionism, ZANU PF would
have considered its prospects in these areas and would work hard to
complicate the process for people who are likely to vote against them, Phiri
added.

“As part of the election rigging strategy this works because as we all know
every vote counts and so in this case Mudede, as ZANU PF’s
man-of-the-moment, will want to make sure he does his part well,” Phiri
said.

Mudede has already cut the number of days his teams will spend in each ward
to three days instead of the expected 30, raising fears that many
Zimbabweans will be left out of the process. Some wards have also reportedly
been combined.

Giving evidence to the Home Affairs Parliamentary Committee on Monday,
Mudede told legislators that there weren’t enough funds or human resources.

“Given limited financial resources, I had to play around with what was
availed to me and decided to station voter registration teams for only three
days in each ward before relocating them elsewhere,” Mudede told the
Committee.

Mudede’s unilateral move has raised alarm, with the MDC-T calling it “a
fraud meant to assist the rigging machinery of a panic stricken ZANU PF.”

In a statement issued Thursday, the party said it was concerned that Mudede
had allocated more teams to ZANU PF-held constituencies and less in others.

The MDC-T noted: “In the Hatfield Constituency held by the MDC, Mudede has
not established a single (registration) centre while in Harare South
Constituency which is held by ZANU PF, four centres have been established.
Harare South Constituency is the only constituency presently under the
control of ZANU PF in Harare and it is largely composed of informal
community and resettlement areas.”

The MDC-T MP for Silobela, Anadi Arnold Sululu, who was part of the
parliamentary committee that quizzed Mudede, said that from Monday MPs will
be going round the country assessing the n process before tabling a report
to Cabinet.

“But we are very worried that a large number of people will be
disenfranchised by the RG’s move to reduce the teams’ presence per ward to
three days.

“Also the voters roll, which is the main document in any election, is in
shambles as Makarau herself admitted. If the roll itself is not even
credible, there is no hope for a credible election,” MP Sululu said.

SADC must deal with Mugabe: Ncube

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

13/06/2013 00:00:00
     by Staff Reporter

MDC leader Welshman Ncube has called on SADC to deal with President Robert
Mugabe accusing the Zanu PF leader of effectively telling regional
counterparts “to f**k off” with his “unilateral” proclamation of election
dates.

Ncube said Mugabe had turned his back on an agreement during Tuesday’s
Cabinet meeting that the electoral amendments would be put before Parliament
next week.

He told NewZimbabwe.com: “We sat in cabinet on Tuesday and agreed amendments
to the Electoral Act, we agreed to take those amendments to parliament next
week, we agreed that voter registration will run until July 9 and we also
agreed to hold a weekly cross-party review of our election preparedness.

"Then out of the blue I wake up to receive a letter from Mugabe literally
saying go to hell. At this level, this kind of deceit is unacceptable.”

SADC helped Mugabe and his rivals reach a deal to form the coalition
government after violent but disputed polls in 2008 and, through South
Africa President Jacob Zuma, has facilitated negotiations between the GPA
parties over a so-called roadmap to new elections.

The regional grouping is due to meet this weekend in Maputo, Mozambique at a
rescheduled extra-ordinary summit which will discuss preparations for the
polls as well as their financing.

Mugabe however, announced Thursday morning that the elections would be held
on July 31, using a presidential decree to fast-track the necessary
electoral amendments.

The move angred rivals including Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who, just
on Wednesday this week, had claimed to hold the keys to timing of the
elections.

Ncube said the SADC should call Mugabe and his party to order.
He said: "It is very clear that this proclamation is deliberately designed
literally to tell SADC to f*** off. The ball is now in SADC's court, do they
accept to be deceived this way? Do they accept the brazen contempt against
them?

The Maputo summit was supposed to have been held last week but was called
off after Mugabe, who was away in Japan, said he would not be able to
attend.

Ncube said it would be a “very sad indictment” against SADC if the grouping
did not take action against Mugabe.

"If SADC allows Mugabe to get away with this, it would be a very, very sad
indictment on them," he said.

“On our part, we will go to SADC on Saturday and place it on record that we
feel cheated by the scoundrels in Zanu PF.”

Hopes dashed for Diaspora vote as court case deferred indefinitely

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Nomalanga Moyo
SW Radio Africa
13 June 2013

On Thursday the case in which an exiled Zimbabwean is fighting for his right
to vote was postponed indefinitely by the newly-formed Constitutional Court.

Tawengwa Bukaibenyu filed an application at the Supreme Court (now the
Constitutional Court) last year, challenging the barring of postal ballots
for exiled Zimbabweans, which he said violated his right to choose his
country’s government.

The decision by the Constitutional Court to delay hearing the matter will
disappoint millions of exiled Zimbabweans, whose hopes were pinned on the
case.

With President Robert Mugabe unilaterally proclaiming the poll for July 31st
it is highly unlikely that the Constitutional Court, which is swamped with
election-related cases, will hear the matter in time for exiled Zimbabweans
to vote, even if Bukaibenyu were to win the case.

Bukaibenyu’s argument is that denying him his right to vote is unfair, as
economic hardships forced him to go to South Africa, but he intends to
return to Zimbabwe, his “permanent home” once the situation normalises and
he can obtain employment in the country.

He wants electoral laws that prohibit the Diaspora vote declared
unconstitutional, saying: “I therefore have a vested interest to do my part
to ensure that the situation in Zimbabwe normalises as soon as possible, and
this includes participation in elections and civic duties in Zimbabwe.”

ZANU PF has always insisted that Zimbabweans living abroad will not be
allowed to vote as payback for sanctions imposed by western governments on
the party’s corrupt leadership.

In February, after a case brought by Gabriel Shumba, the African Commission
on Human and People’s Rights ordered the government to make provisions
allowing Zimbabweans abroad to use the postal voting system during the March
referendum, but the ruling was ignored by the government.

Tsvangirai says open to Ncube alliance

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

12/06/2013 00:00:00
     by Staff Reporter

MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he is open to forming an election
coalition with the rival MDC group led by Welshman Ncube in order to topple
President Robert Mugabe at the next elections.

Addressing leaders of civil society organisations in Harare Wednesday,
Tsvangirai said political parties needed to form an alliance in the
“national interest”.

“Let’s unite to make sure that we achieve what we set (out to do) in 1999,”
Tsvangirai said.
“If it means Tsvangirai and Welshman are the impediments to that alliance or
that coalition then Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube should not be leaders of
political parties.”

Following its formation in 1999, the MDC presented the biggest challenge to
Mugabe’s uninterrupted rule since Independence before splintering
acrimoniously in 2005 due to differences over policy and strategy.

Analysts say the failure to form a united front in successive elections has
divided the anti-Mugabe vote, helping the veteran leader stay in power.

MDC-T secretary general Tendai Biti revealed last December that efforts to
reunify the two MDCs collapsed before the disputed 2008 elections which led
to the formation of the coalition government.

“For me personally, I did my best to see the reunification of the two MDCs
and I was really shattered when our talks broke down on February 2, 2008,”
Biti told New Zimbabwe.com.

“I think it was a disaster, and to prove that those of us who were preaching
unity were vindicated, the presidential run-off election was caused by the 9
percent that we theoretically lost to Simba Makoni.”

New elections are due this year to replace the uneasy coalition and, as he
readies for another bid at power after more than ten years of trying,
Tsvangirai suggested he was ready to work with his erstwhile colleagues.

“Strategically it is important to unite people than to divide them and that
has been always our approach because we believe it was necessary to discuss
this issue,” the MDC-T leader said.

“We will always unite on issues and I am sure that Professor Welshman Ncube
will equally be motivated by the national interest and I am motivated by the
national interest.”

But Tsvangirai's push to forge an alliance with Ncube is said to be opposed
by the MDC-T's Matabeleland party, with his deputy Thokozani Khupe and party
chairman Lovemore Moyo said to have threatened to quit - insiders say as
they fear losing their posts.

And in April, Ncube said reunification was “impossible”, insisting
Tsvangirai was “unprincipled” and that differences which led to the 2005
split remain unresolved.

“The problems which led to the split remain alive today. They remain
unresolved,” said the Industry and Commerce Minister.

“In fact the cracks are wider today than they were in 2005. The only thing
we literally share in common is that we agree that Zanu PF and Mugabe have
been bad for the country.”

Still the two groups, along with three other opposition parties, got
together to agree a strategy following the Constitutional Court ruling which
ordered Mugabe to hold elections by July 31 this year.

Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba, confirmed that the five parties wrote
to the President emphasising the need for reforms before new elections can
be held - effectively asking him to ignore the court ruling.

“I am aware that there has been a document posted to the President although
I cannot confirm that he had received that yet,” Charamba said on Thursday.

“Whatever the content of that document is, it must be remembered that the
President is not about to be encouraged to be in breach of the laws of the
country.

“It must be remembered that the country has upwards of 29 political parties
and a mere five cannot claim to be representing the people of Zimbabwe.

“Elections are not for political parties, they are for the people of
Zimbabwe who may or may not act as organised political parties.”

Mavambo Kusile leader, Simba Makoni, has also hinted at the possibility of a
grand election coalition.
“We and the organisations that we lead are committed to working together
both among ourselves and other likeminded in order to improve the conditions
of life of Zimbabweans,” Makoni said, following a meeting of the five
parties in Harare last week.

“We have cooperated on this one matter today because we have judged it
important that we should work together .When such other matters present
themselves we will not hesitate to work together again.”

Air Zim slashes fares

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

Thursday, 13 June 2013 17:00
HARARE - National airline Air Zimbabwe (Airzim) has reduced fares for local
and regional flights by as much as 60 percent.

Shingai Taruvinga, Airzim spokesperson said under the promotion, which is
running until July 31, 2013, will see a return ticket for Harare-Bulawayo
reduced from $300 to $105 while a return ticket for Harare Victoria Falls is
down from $421 to $180.

“A return ticket for the Harare-Johannesburg route now costs $275 from $390
and we have also introduced to our network the Bulawayo-Johannesburg route
with the return ticket costing $275,” she said.

Taruvinga noted that since the introduction of Airzim’s domestic routes, air
fares for the route have tumbled drastically.

Taruvinga said one way ticket for Harare-Bulawayo, Harare-Victoria Falls and
Harare-Johannesburg were slashed down to $61, $140 and $150 respectively.

“By lowering our fares, we are trying to demystify flying, to make it
accessible to every person in the country. Travelling in an aeroplane should
not be viewed as only for the elite,” said Taruvinga.

The coming down of air fares comes after Airzim recently acquired two new
aircraft to service its domestic and regional routes.

Airzim also recently indicated that it had opened talks with an unidentified
party for delivery of an Airbus 380 (A380) which is expected to restart its
Harare-London route that it abandoned after creditors threatened to attach
its planes due to overdue debts. - John Kachembere

IMF Managing Director Approves Staff-Monitored Programme for Zimbabwe

http://www.voazimbabwe.com/

Gibbs Dube
13.06.2013

WASHINGTON DC — The managing director of the International Monetary Fund,
Christine Lagarde, has approved a Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) for
Zimbabwe, covering the period April to December, 2013.

In a statement released Thursday, the IMF said this is Zimbabwe’s first
agreement with the organization in more than a decade following the failure
by Zimbabwe to service IMF loans between 2003 and 2008.

Zimbabwe remains unable to access IMF resources because of its continued
arrears to the organization.

The IMF said а strong track record of maintaining macro-economic stability
and implementing reforms, together with a comprehensive arrears clearance
strategy supported by development partners, will be essential for resolving
Zimbabwe’s large debt overhang.

An SMP is an informal agreement between country authorities and IMF staff to
monitor the implementation of the countries’ economic programmes.

SMPs do not entail financial assistance or endorsement by the IMF executive
board. The IMF said a successful implementation of the SMP would be an
important stepping stone toward helping Zimbabwe re-engage with the
international community.
Zimbabwe’s external debt is estimated to be over $11 billion.

The IMF said: “In particular, fiscal consolidation efforts aim to move the
primary budget balance from a deficit in 2012 to a small surplus in 2013,
helping start what should be a gradual rebuilding of fiscal buffers and
international reserves. A decline in commodity export prices, financial
sector stress, and uncertainties related to the election year, however, pose
some of the risks to the program.”

It further said Zimbabwe has made considerable progress in stabilizing the
economy since the end of hyperinflation in 2009. “Since then, (Gross
Domestic Product) GDP has grown by an average of over 7 percent and
inflation has remained in the low single digits, thanks largely to the
multi-currency system. Government revenues have more than doubled from 16
percent of GDP in 2009 to an estimated 36 percent of GDP in 2012, allowing
the restoration of basic public services.”

The IMF noted that the economic recovery, however, has been accompanied by
“very large current account deficits in recent years, while international
reserves remain very low, at around one week of imports.”

“In 2011 and 2012, sizeable public sector salary increases crowded out
spending in key areas. Those increases, combined with significantly
lower-than-expected diamond revenue in 2012, resulted in fiscal stress,
including the accumulation of domestic payments arrears, which necessitated
significant adjustment in the second half of 2012. In addition, rapid credit
growth combined with slow implementation of financial sector reforms, has
exacerbated financial sector vulnerabilities.”

The IMF said the strong rebound seen after the end of hyperinflation seems
to have run its course. It said GDP growth has moderated from over 10
percent in 2011 to an estimated 4.5 percent in 2012, with marginally better
growth projected for 2013, as mining output expands.

“Going forward, sustaining high growth will require determined efforts at
economic reform. In this regard, the SMP already envisages important reforms
in public financial management, financial sector regulation, and other
areas.”

It said Zimbabwe’s external debt is high and largely in arrears, cutting off
the country from access to most external financing sources.
According to the IMF, its staff will remain engaged with the authorities to
monitor progress in the implementation of their economic program, and will
continue providing targeted technical assistance in order to support
Zimbabwe’s capacity-building efforts and its adjustment and reform program.

Zimbabwe parliament committee says state diamond revenue missing

http://mg.co.za/

13 JUN 2013 16:57 GODFREY MARAWANYIKA

Tens of millions of dollars of revenue that a diamond- mining company says
its paid to the government never found its way to the Treasury.

While Zimbabwe's 2013 National Budget shows that Treasury received
$41-million from diamond mining in 2012, matching the amount received the
year earlier, one company, Mbada Diamonds, says it has paid has $293-million
to the government since it started mining in 2009, the Portfolio Committee
on Mines and Energy said in report that it compiled over four years.

Three other companies operating on the Marange field, which the committee
said could supply a quarter of world demand, refused to disclose the
payments they made to the government, the committee said.

“There are very serious discrepancies between what government receives from
the sector and what the diamond mining companies claim to have remitted to
Treasury,” the committee said.

Chris Gavrilides, the managing director of Johannesburg- based New
Reclamation, which has a stake in Mbada, referred queries to Jeremy Joffe,
the chief executive officer. Joffe was not in his office today and didn’t
immediately reply to an e-mailed request for comment.

Prince Mupazviriho, permanent secretary at Zimmbabwe’s Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development, said he hadn’t seen the report. – Bloomberg

More Than 2,000 Killed In 30,000 Accidents On Zimbabwe's Roads

http://www.bernama.com/

HARARE, June 13 (BERNAMA-NNN- NEW ZIANA) -- At least 2,094 people were
killed while 14,965 were injured in 30,911 road accidents recorded in
Zimbabwe last year, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) says.

TSCZ board member Rosemary Mpofu told participants of a workshop on the role
of the media in road safety here on Tuesday that using the road had become a
major hazard because of the carnage.

"In low-income countries like Zimbabwe, motorization has been accompanied by
rapid growth in road traffic accidents, which have become a leading cause of
death and disability," she said.

According to a 2011 World Health Organization (WHO) report, more than 50
million people are injured in road crashes on the world's roads annually.

Mpofu said media coverage could cause kombi drivers, touts, passengers and
pedestrians to adopt a culture of road safety.

"Press coverage of crashes has the potential to shape perceptions of readers
towards personal risk and their beliefs about the nature and preventability
of crashes through the choice of stories to cover, choice of detail and the
context in which information is conveyed," she said.

Mpofu said the public should police itself since there could never be enough
traffic officers on the roads.

"The media is vital for informing the public on how to police themselves on
our roads and thus help save millions of lives daily," she said.

Most road traffic accidents that occur in Zimbabwe have been attributed to
negligent driving, speeding and use of vehicles not fit to be driven.

-- BERNAMA-NNN-NEW ZIANA

MDC-T29: Judge reserves ruling

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

12/06/2013 00:00:00
     by Staff Reporter

A HIGH Court Judge reserved his ruling Wednesday on the application for
acquittal by the 29 MDC-T activists accused of killing a police inspector in
2011.

Defence attorney Beatrice Mtetwa applied for discharge at the close of the
prosecution’s case saying there was no evidence linking her clients to the
case adding police investigations had also been shoddy.

The Activists, who include MDC-T national youth leader Solomon Madzore, were
arrested in May 2011 following the death of Inspector Petros Mutedza after
skirmishes at Glen View 3 Shopping Centre in Harare.

Mtetwa said there was no need for the suspects to be put to their defence
adding police had politicised the case instead of investing their efforts in
trying to find the real culprits.

“The obsession was with the members of a political party and the team of
investigating police officers involved with combined experience of over 100
years could not carry out basic investigations,” Mtetwa said.

However, law officer Edmore Nyazamba opposed the application arguing that
the State had established a connection between the 29 suspects and the
Mutedza’s murder.

He said the evidence showed that the 29 suspects were part of the MDC-T
supporters who were gathered in Glen View for the party’s T-Shirt Visibility
Day function.

The group, Nyazamba added, later attacked a police detail dispatched to the
area and killed Mutedza.

Justice Chinembiri Bhunu reserved ruling to a later date.

Hackers threaten to cripple MoD website

http://www.herald.co.zw/

Thursday, 13 June 2013 13:35

The Herald Online servers were being flooded with traffic which kept them
going online and offline.

Herald Reporter
Hackers calling themselves Anonymous Africa have this morning threatened to
bring down the Ministry of Defence’s website.

This threat comes after The Herald Online, yesterday, suffered a distributed
denial of service (DDoS) attack allegedly carried out by the same group.

A DDoS attack is a form of hacker attack against a website designed to
consume all of a website’s resources to the point a website becomes
unavailable to ordinary visitors trying to access it.

The Herald Online servers were being flooded with traffic which kept them
going online and offline. The interruption, however, lasted for a few
minutes.

Africa Anonymous, earlier Wednesday, claimed responsibility for the attack
on IOL South Africa. The organisation was accused of publishing stories in
support of President Mugabe.

The group is using Twitter to send out threats to the perceived “enemies of
human rights”.

“In 5 minutes http://www.zimra.co.zw/  will be live again. We have decided
to go after a bigger target after this, watch this space.

“In 43 minutes time we will be taking down the Zimbabwe Ministry of Defense
http://www.mod.gov.zw  Expect us #anonymous #africa #zimbabwe” read some of
their tweets.

The attack on the Herald online website came a few hours after the
Independent Newspapers of South Africa website also came under attack from
an organisation that claimed it did it because of the media group’s alleged
support of President Mugabe. The attack led to Independent Newspaper’s
internet and e-mail systems going down at 11am. According to IOL editor
Alastair Otter, the system crashed because of a denial of service (DoS)
attack, an attack in which servers are flooded by a huge volume of traffic.

Chaos still reigning at S African border

http://www.herald.co.zw/

Thursday, 13 June 2013 00:39

Beitbridge Bureau
Chaos is still reigning at the South African side of the border where
travellers are spending long hours waiting to be cleared into or out of that
country. The situation has been unfolding over the last four weeks, with
reports that some travellers were now opting to use other ports of entry
into that country to avoid delays and congestion. In some cases

travellers were aborting their journeys to that country.

Investigations by this paper reveal that people are spending between three
and six hours for them to enter or leave South Africa.

Zimbabwe’s assistant regional immigration officer in charge of southern
region (Beitbridge), Mr Charles Gwede said yesterday that they had engaged
their counterparts over the delays and congestion and they had promised to
beef up staff.

“We have been continually engaging our colleagues and are hopeful that the
situation will improve soon. They indicated to us that they are thin in
terms of manpower and that they will get more hands with effect from June
14.

“We are much seized with the matter and we will continue to review progress.
Basically we have agreed to speed up the flow of traffic on both sides of
the border,” said Mr Gwede.

The travellers are blaming the South African immigration department for
taking a casual approach in light of an increase in traffic.

It has also emerged that some of the travellers were being denied entry into
that country ostensibly for not having sufficient funds to sustain their
visits.
Others were being sent back for complaining about the state of affairs at
the border post.

Ironically the travellers are being cleared on the Zimbabwean side of the
border where travellers are spending less than 30 minutes at the border
post. This includes those leaving and entering the country.

There are 10 computer units on the Zimbabwean side of the border which are
used for processing both arrivals and departures while South Africa has 46
for the same purpose.
Long static winding queues have become a common feature on both sides of the
South African border (arrivals and departure).

Beitbridge Border post is one of the busiest inland ports in Sub-Saharan
Africa where an average of 10 000 access it daily.
The number rises to 25 000 during peak times and the festive season.

It is understood that things got worse in the neighbouring country when
several immigration officers were sent for a 12-month in-house training soon
after the Easter holidays resulting in the remaining officers failing to
cope with the workload.

The officers are undergoing the training programme in batches.

South Africa’s spokesman for the Border Operations Coordinating Committee Mr
Calvin Mulaudzi could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Elections Must Be Credible, Transparent and Peaceful - U.S. Ambassador

http://allafrica.com/

BY D. BRUCE WHARTON, 12 JUNE 2013

GUEST COLUMN

Harare — U.S. policy toward Zimbabwe is guided by fundamental principles of
rule of law, good governance, and human rights protection.  Our interests
are first and foremost peace, stability, and growth for the betterment of
the people of Zimbabwe and the region.

Our policy is also prepared to respond to the evolving situation on the
ground in the land-locked African nation.  After a difficult decade marred
by human rights violations, economic mismanagement, and political violence,
we stand strongly and firmly by the leadership of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) in pushing for improved democratic processes
and the rule of law.

Zimbabwe is in a more hopeful and optimistic position than five years ago.
2008 was a terrible year filled with uncertainly, fear, and economic
devastation.  Zimbabwe’s neighbors in SADC stepped in to help get the
country back on track.  The United States strongly supported this process.

With SADC intervention, the three main competing political parties formed a
government of national unity and managed to work well enough together to
stabilize the economy and put the country back on a path toward normalcy.
Although it has faced numerous problems and has not achieved all of the
goals set out for it, the government of national unity has been useful in
allowing the parties to work together and in giving members of the
opposition parties experience in governing.

Since taking up the position of Ambassador in Zimbabwe last November, I have
consistently spoken out against politically-motivated violence, on both a
large and small scale, by any group.  I will continue to do this and to put
non-violent, democratic principles and processes at the top of our foreign
policy agenda in Zimbabwe.

The 2013 elections are critically important.  They will be an opportunity
for Zimbabwe to show how much progress has been made in the past five years.
It is important that the elections be credible, transparent and peaceful,
especially keeping in mind that the election process is more than one day.

The preparations, campaigns, and ability of the government-elect to assume
power are all critical.  The strength of the next government will be
determined by how much confidence the people of Zimbabwe have in these
elections.

A broad range of domestic and international observers, welcomed not just in
the few days before and during the elections, but for a sufficient period of
time to assess the overall conditions for elections, will be essential if
the elections are to be deemed truly free and fair.

I remain concerned about serious political problems on the ground, such as
intimidation of voters and civil society, and access to broadcast media for
all political parties and have spoken publicly about all of these things.
However, we hope that with the right action from the President, security
sector leaders, and other political figures, credible and peaceful elections
are possible this year.

President Mugabe has repeatedly called for peace and his words are
important.    The actions of his followers and the security forces should be
consistent with his words.  It is significant that ten years ago the
President’s message was very different, and, therefore, I believe that
highlighting his constant calls for peaceful elections is something that all
supporters of Zimbabwe should do.

But again, words without action are meaningless, and I intend to use all of
my power as President Obama’s chief representative in Zimbabwe to engage all
actors in support of peaceful, credible elections and an improved bilateral
U.S.-Zimbabwean relationship.

D. Bruce Wharton is U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Whatever election date, human rights monitors vital

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/

Posted: 13 June 2013

Zimbabwe’s government must ensure there is no repeat of the violence that
marred the presidential elections in 2008, Amnesty International warned
today as the country’s leaders publicly disputed the date the 2013 vote
should be held.

During the 2008 elections more than 200 people were killed and thousands
injured and displaced. Many of those targeted were human rights defenders
and civil society activists who play a crucial role in exposing abuses and
supporting victims of human rights violations. So many people were beaten
that hospitals ran out of crutches.

Amnesty International’s Africa director Netsanet Belay said:

“Whatever date is decided for the election, the government’s absolute
priority must be making sure the violence that erupted during the 2008 vote
is not repeated.

“All the rights enshrined in Zimbabwe’s new constitution must be respected
by the security forces. This is especially important in view of the role
they played in organising violence against perceived political opponents of
the then government in 2008.

“The rights to freedom of assembly for all must be respected. Police must
not arbitrarily apply provisions of the Public Order and Security Act to
stop meetings of civil society groups and other political parties as has
happened previously.”

However, in recent months there has been a crackdown on civil society in
Zimbabwe with the arrest of activists, including prominent human rights
lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, and the raiding of NGO offices. Shortwave radios
have been banned in an apparent attempt at curbing access to news sources
other than official state outlets. Amnesty is concerned this clampdown could
intensify as the election date approaches.

In 2008, it was the intervention of Zimbabwe’s neighbours in the Southern
African Development Community that stemmed the bloodshed. This time, Amnesty
wants them to use their influence to prevent the violence from happening in
the first place, including by deploying human rights monitors to oversee the
period before, during and after the elections.

The SADC will meet on Saturday in Maputo, Mozambique to review the electoral
process in Zimbabwe.

FULL STATEMENT: Tsvangirai on Mugabe’s poll date proclamation

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

June 13, 2013 in News

June 13, 1200hrs, Harare, Zimbabwe

Today, early in the morning, I received a letter from President Mugabe dated
13 June 2013, in which he advised that in purported compliance with the
Constitutional Court judgment, he was proclaiming the 28th of June 2013 as
the sitting of the nomination court and the 31ST July as the Election Day.

As the Rt Hon. Prime Minister of this country and a key member of the
coalition government, mere courtesy would have required prior discussions on
this matter. However, this is a matter governed by the law.

In terms of the GPA we signed on 15 September 2008, which has been codified
as the 8th schedule of the current Constitution of Zimbabwe, the President
can only act in consultation with the Prime Minister in respect to any
executive decisions including the announcement of the date of the election.

Thus, President Mugabe’s actions are a unilateral and flagrant breach of our
Constitution and the GPA.

I, as PM, cannot and will not accept this.

Moreover, part 3 of the 6th schedule of our Constitution makes it clear that
there shall be an intense 30-day voter registration exercise. Only on
Tuesday in Cabinet all political parties agreed that this process had
commenced on 10 June 2013 and would be completed on 9 July 2013.

The net effect of the proclamation is therefore to infringe on the
Constitutional provisions obliging the 30-day intense voter registration
exercise.

It will also mean that President Mugabe is disenfranchising many people who
were registering to vote, for instance aliens and first time voters.

President Mugabe is also denying political parties and Zimbabweans the
opportunity to inspect the voters roll.

In any event, section 26 A of our Electoral Act Cap 2:13 makes it clear that
voter registration for everyone closes 24 hrs before the sitting of the
Nomination Court. This means that voter registration will now close on the
27th of June 2013 instead of the 9th of July 2013. A clear, flagrant and
fraudulent breach of our Constitution.

The new Constitution also makes it clear in section 8 of the sixth schedule
that the forthcoming election must be conducted in “terms of the electoral
law in conformity with this Constitution.”

That new Electoral law according to section 157 ought to provide among other
things for new issues such as proportional representation for the election
of Senators and the new two disabled Senators and members of the newly
introduced provincial councils.

As has been widely reported Cabinet only agreed to the proposed electoral
law on Tuesday.

President Mugabe in calling for an election when the Electoral law has not
been passed in Parliament is clearly acting unconstitutionally.

He is fully aware of this, hence the claim in his letter that he is using
powers under the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act. Ladies and
gentlemen, the Presidential Powers act, which in the past allowed the
President to make laws on his own without Parliament is patently not in
compliance with the new Constitution.

For the avoidance of doubt, section 134 A of the new Constitution makes it
clear that only Parliament has the power to make primary legislation and
that its powers of making law cannot be delegated to anyone, including the
President.

In any event, what is the material urgency when Parliament is still sitting
until 29th of June 2013?

Once it is accepted, as Cabinet accepted on Tuesday, that the intensive
voter registration made obligatory by our Constitution began on 10 June to
finish on 9 July, then the earliest date that the proclamation would have
been on the 10th of July 2013.

Our law makes it clear that the nomination court can only sit between 14 and
21 days of the proclamation. This means that the earliest date that the
nomination court would sit would have been the 24th of July 2013.

Our Constitution as well provides for a minimum 30-day period of campaigning
to a maximum of 42 days before the election date. This means that after the
nomination court sitting of the 24th July 2013, the earliest that the
election could be held is the 25th August 2013.

The point being made is that President Mugabe has acted unlawfully and
unconstitutionally and is deliberately creating and precipitating an
unnecessary Constitutional crisis. The Constitution makes the President the
chief upholder and defender of the Constitution. It is therefore regrettable
that the chief defender and upholder has become the chief attacker and
abuser of the Constitution.

Surely, the defender-in-chief cannot become the attacker-in-chief!
Elections in Zimbabwe have never been about the date but the process and
conditions under which it is held. The people of Zimbabwe have always
insisted on the date of elections being determined by the processes that
have to be carried out to ensure a legitimate, credible and sustainable
election.

This call has also been reiterated in numerous resolutions of SADC since the
Dar es Salaam summit 29 March 2007. Only as recent as 1 June 2012, SADC at
its summit in Luanda, resolved that Zimbabwe was obliged to attend to
reforms for a year to the 30th of June 2013. Once those reforms were
complete, the President and the Prime Minister would agree on a date for
elections.

You will also be aware that the three political parties signatory to the GPA
have been involved in intense processes and negotiation under the
facilitation of President Zuma. In these discussions, many issues have been
agreed to although not implemented.

Agreement was reached on a ROADMAP and on 24 post-Maputo issues. All
documents and agreements were handed over to President Zuma in June 2010.

Ladies and gentlemen, there are fundamental reforms to be carried out, which
are currently the subject of negotiations between the parties now.

These include:
-Media reforms

-Security sector realignment

-Alignment of our laws to the new Constitution

-Electoral reform including the issue of the voters roll

On the voters roll alone, as late as Thursday 6th June 2013, the party
negotiators agreed and restated that the voters roll process would be as
follows:

(1) A 30-day period of voter registration (10 June-9July) followed by:

(2) The voters roll preparation period ( to be defined by ZEC) followed by:

(3) The voters roll inspection period (to be defined by ZEC) followed by:

(4) The final voters roll preparation (period to be defined by ZEC) followed
by

(5) The signing off of an agreed voters roll by the political parties.
Clearly therefore, the unilateral proclamation made today is a deliberate
attempt to stall the reform agenda in Zimbabwe. Without reforms, Zimbabwe is
yet again heading to another contested, predatory and illegitimate election.

In short, another June 27.

As Morgan Tsvangirai, the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and the President of
the MDC, I will not accept a situation where Zimbabweans will yet again be
railroaded and frog-marched to another illegitimate and violent election.

The people of Zimbabwe are suffering. Businesses are shutting down, workers
are under attack and the economy has frozen. A fraudulent and illegitimate
election will deepen the crisis and will not reverse this malaise.

Ladies and gentlemen, all of you are aware that SADC and the AU are the
guarantors and curators of the Zimbabwean crisis. For six years they have
selflessly and with great dedication and commitment, they have chaperoned
and shepherded the Zimbabwean crisis.

The GPA and the modicum of stability WE HAVE ENJOYED for the past five years
are due to the tireless efforts of our African brothers and sisters,
including President Zuma and his facilitation team.

The net effect of President Mugabe’s unilateral and illegal proclamation is
an unmitigated frontal and rear attack on SADC, the AU and President Zuma
and his team.

President Mugabe and his team cannot hide behind the concept of sovereignty
that they long ago surrendered and mortgaged through the misgovernance and
State failure that led SADC to engage in our affairs as way back as 2007.

They can also not hide behind a Constitutional Court judgement which all
Zimbabweans agree is clearly practically and legally unenforceable.

It is also disturbing to note that it was President Mugabe himself who
caused SADC to postpone the summit that was supposed to be held on Sunday
the 9th of June 2013.

It is now clear that President Mugabe called for the postponement in order
to go to SADC with a done deal of an election date.

Thus clearly, President Mugabe has sought to render the forthcoming SADC
summit a dead rubber and a talk show. This is clearly dishonest and
disrespectful of the esteemed leaders of SADC, the AU, President
Zuma and our brothers and sisters on the African continent.

I have clearly reflected on the matter and this morning, to defend the
Constitution, I instructed my attorneys to file an urgent court application.

In addition, I will be leaving tomorrow for SADC and will fully brief the
regional leaders on the crisis in Zimbabwe.

Finally, I appeal to fellow Zimbabwean to remain calm but vigilant in the
face of this provocation and illegality. History has taught us that evil
never triumphs and the way of truth will always triumph.

As Morgan Tsvangirai, I call upon Zimbabweans to walk with me and stand by
me in this patriotic fight to defend the truth and the Constitution.

After all is said and done, I am certain that one day and very soon,
Zimbabweans will have a government of their choice where they are free to
pursue happiness and their dreams and aspirations.

I thank you.

Court Watch 7/2013 of 11th June [New Constitutional Court's Election Date Judgment]

Bill Watch 20/2013 of 13th June [Presidential Powers Regulations Used to Amend Electoral Act]

Bill Watch 22/2013 of 13th June [Election Date Proclamation]