4 April 2005
editorial
Lusaka — Despite being declared free, fair and a reflection of the will of the Zimbabwean people by both the South African Observer Mission and the Electoral Commission Forum of Southern African Development Community (SADC), the conduct of Zimbabwe's last Thursday's parliamentary elections cannot be said to have been anywhere near perfect.
There are still many flaws and a number of areas that need improvement. But whose conduct of elections can be said to be perfect or near perfect? No one. Even the United States' conduct of elections - as witnessed in the last two elections - is nowhere near perfect; they still have flaws of one form or another.
There is no real participation by the people in United States' kind of democracy, because opinions are manipulated to a great extent by the mass media. People's criteria and decisions are almost completely influenced by advertising, propaganda and what are called 'scientific' methods for influencing how people think. And money is a decisive factor in the kind of electoral propaganda in which they engage. In the United States, those who don't have resources can't set themselves any political goals, because they are excluded and eliminated.
Can a poor person in the United States be elected Senator, Congressman or President? No. They cannot. The campaigns cost millions of dollars.
And ignoring the South African Observer Mission and the Electoral Commission Forum of SADC's observations, the European Union and United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have declared the parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe as neither free nor fair.
Now whose view of the Zimbabwean parliamentary elections should the world follow or respect? Whose observations are correct, fair or just?
South African Observer Mission leader Membathisi Mdladlana, who is also South Africa's labour minister, says the elections were conducted in line with Zimbabwean law, which by and large conformed to the SADC guidelines governing elections.
Mdladlana says the political climate under which the elections took place was conducive and people exhibited political maturity and tolerance throughout the process.
However, Rice charges that food was used as a weapon to sway hungry voters. But Mdladlana says the South African Observer Mission could not verify the truthfulness of allegations regarding ZANU-PF's usage of food as a political tool although they had received the complaints.
Mdladlana says he had a mind of his own and could not allow anyone to tell him how to think; "I come from my own province and I do not think I am here to answer to the thinking of other people. I am different and I do not speculate and I do not think I should be told what to think...Our conclusion is that Zimbabweans have expressed their will in these elections and we will write recommendations which will be sent to our President, Thabo Mbeki."
But Zimbabwe is neither a member of the EU nor a colony or province of the United States. It is a member of SADC and a neighbour of South Africa.
Again, Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) finds itself in an embarrassing position of being only supported by the United States and their European allies - against the African observers. It will therefore be very difficult for MDC to dismiss charges that it is being backed by the American and European imperialist forces.
Clearly, there's need for MDC to accept the results of these elections and work within the SADC framework to improve on the many flaws detected in the Zimbabwean political, legal and electoral systems. Collaborating with imperialism to bring the Zimbabwean government of ZANU-PF to its knees won't do; it's a wrong strategy that has so far failed them and undermined them in the eyes of many African, and indeed Zimbabwean, patriots.
And the United States and the EU will do their MDC friends a lot of good by accepting and respecting the observations and conclusions of the African observer missions in the Zimbabwean parliamentary elections. They will not succeed in ousting ZANU-PF from power in this way.
After all, the American people had accepted and respected the fraud in the United States presidential elections of four years ago and allowed their country to move forward - they didn't paralyse it and make it impossible for George Bush to govern.
We therefore appeal to the United States and the EU not to encourage further divisions and confusion in Zimbabwe. What Zimbabweans need is international support that promotes unity so that the nation can tackle basic problems, and not where the whole system just becomes a tool of imperialism for maintaining its dominance. International support to Zimbabwe should promote unity, if possible.
And last Thursday's elections have just gone further to confirm the correctness of President Thabo Mbeki's approach to Zimbabwe's political problems. There is need for the United States and the EU to support, and not undermine, President Mbeki's efforts.
President Robert Mugabe's statement after the election results were announced needs to be capitalised on. President Mugabe said, "I also have a message for the MDC. We have handled this election in a peaceful way and this should be the basis of our future interaction. We will interact with them in Parliament to ensure effective debate and that whatever laws need to be passed are passed. We need to interact in a natural manner to ensure that we fulfil our mission. MDC also complied during the elections as we were all tolerant of one another and I commend them for ensuring that peace reigned."
With the help of well-intentioned friends of Zimbabwe, this statement from President Mugabe can be used to build a better basis for the conduct of politics in Zimbabwe.
It is clear that one of the most difficult concepts for some to accept, especially in troubled and fragile nations like ours, is that of "loyal opposition". This idea is a vital one, however. It means, in essence, that all sides in a democracy share a common commitment to its basic values. Political competitors don't necessarily have to like each other, but they must tolerate one another and acknowledge that each has a legitimate and important role to play. Moreover, the ground rules of society must encourage tolerance and civility in politics.
When the elections are over, the losers accept the judgment of the voters. And no matter who loses or wins, both sides must agree to co-operate in solving the common problems of their country. The role of the losers is still essential in the governance of the country. They are loyal not to the specific policies of the government, but to the fundamental legitimacy of the state, and to the democratic process itself.
Elections, after all, are not supposed to be a fight for survival or total annihilation of the opponents, but a competition to serve.
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