Financial Gazette (Harare)
Njabulo Ncube
8 May 2008
opinion
Harare — AS Zimbabwe braces for the first ever presidential run-off in its post independence history, analysts say the authorities must meet baseline conditions if the second round of the disputed presidential elections is to be acceptable at law and in practice.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won the March 29 Presidential vote but the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said it faced a second round because its leader Morgan Tsvangirai failed to garner an absolute majority.
Tsvangirai secured 47,9 percent of the vote, while President Robert Mugabe polled 43,2 percent. Simba Makoni, the former ZANU-PF politburo member, garnered 8,3 percent of the vote with another independent presidential aspirant Langton Toungana securing the balance or 0,6 percent.
While ZANU-PF this week declared it was ready for the second bite of the cherry, the MDC, which claims its leader should be declared winner, has been non-committal with Tsvangirai's spokesman George Sibotshiwe saying he would only make a decision after the announcement of the date of the run-off.
But analysts who spoke to The Financial Gazette this week were adamant that the authorities, including the ZEC, the sole body charged with running elections, the police and the army, should address specific issues, such as the retribution underway in the rural areas and the need to withdraw militias blamed for the escalation of political violence in the countryside.
The analysts said the effect of the retributive political violence was to ensure that the presidential election result announced by ZEC was still disputed and of no value to those who voted on March 29 for a return to the rule of law, peace and democracy in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said it should be made clear to the authorities that certain critical issues needed to be addressed as a matter of utmost urgency before a single vote was cast.
"Should the two presidential candidates agree to participate in the second election, there is a need to be clear on exactly what issues need to be addressed in order for such an election to conform, at the most minimum level, to Zimbabwean constitutional and electoral norms and regional and international standards, most particularly the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections," said Irene Petras, executive director of ZLHR.
The issues to be addressed urgently include the immediate deployment into Zimbabwe of expanded regional and international observer missions, especially those of the SADC, the Common Market for East and Southern Africa, African Union and the United Nations.
These expanded regional and international observer teams, according to the analysts, should be allowed full access to all areas of the country to ensure, among other things, that ZEC, through its officers on the ground at each and every polling station, was able to perform its constitutional functions transparently and without fear or favour.
Useni Sibanda, the co-ordinator for the Christian Alliance of Zimbabwe, concurred, adding that the on-going violence rendered the conditions non-conducive for the staging of a free and fair election in a democracy as agreed by SADC heads of state and governments.
"The SADC guidelines and principles are already being violated with all this violence in the rural areas. This should stop before the country goes for the second round of voting," said Sibanda.
"We need to re-establish the peaceful conditions that we enjoyed before going to cast our votes on March 29," he said, adding that the violence had created no-go zones for the opposition MDC in certain areas of Mashonaland and Manicaland.
Petras echoed the same concerns, saying there should be an immediate cessation of all political violence in Zimbabwe, especially at the local community level, perpetrated by both state and non-state actors with the acquiescence of the state.
"This includes, but is not limited to, commanders and officers of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (especially the Law and Order Section and the riot squad), the Zimbabwe National Army, the Central Intelligence Organisation, Police Internal Security Intelligence, so-called war veterans and graduates of the National Youth Service," she said.
But this week the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) came out in defence of its integrity. ZNA deputy director of public relations said none of the ZNA units were ever involved in any acts of violence. "The army does not conduct such activities and if any of such incidents do occur, the owners of such establishments, and revellers are advised to report to the nearest police station so that members will be dealt with according to the Defence Act. If they are not members of the army, they will be dealt with according to the rules and regulations that govern the behaviour and conduct of civilians," he said in specific reference to reports that soldiers were terrorising revellers and musicians
Petras this week said the lawyers' pressure group demanded an immediate comprehensive public statements using print, all publicly-owned newspapers throughout the country, and electronic media, state television and all four state-controlled radio stations, by the "Minister" of Home Affairs, the Commissioner-General of Police, the Commander of the Defence Forces, the Commander of the Air Force of Zimbabwe, and the Commissioner of Prisons, denouncing all forms of political violence.
These state agents should comply by "instructing their subordinates to cease all such violence, and assuring voters that they will all be protected, no matter their political affiliation, and that all perpetrators will be brought swiftly to justice to ensure that impunity is fought".
In an apparent response, ZANU-PF secretary for information and publicity, Nathan Shamuyarira, on Tuesday said the party "was urging its members to avoid violence and preach tolerance.
"We are urging our members to avoid violence and to go and campaign peacefully. We are also urging the opposition to avoid violence and respect people's lives," Shamuyarira said
But Sibanda said: "People are already saying they are afraid to exercise their right to vote in the run-off because of the violence, the intimidation and assaults.
"This should not be the case. All the instruments of political violence should be disbanded to allow for free and fair elections.
"The two candidates should campaign freely anywhere in the country. But this is not possible at the moment especially for the opposition candidate who has sought refuge outside the country."
Petras said lawyers, medical practitioners, humanitarian organisations and other groups, should be given immediate access to all victims of political violence.
Other groups that provide emergency and ongoing support services should be protected and authorities should ensure their safety throughout the second election period and beyond.
She said there was also a need for an immediate and public assurance by the "Minister" of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, of the institutional and individual independence of the judiciary, especially judges of the Electoral Court, so that they can carry out their constitutional functions without fear or favour.
Other baseline conditions analysts say need to be in place include the immediate end of arrests of ZEC presiding officers and other election officers, the withdrawal of all charges against those already arrested, and their immediate release from detention.
There should be a public undertaking and issuing of an order to all law enforcement agents by the "Minister" of Home Affairs and the Commissioner-General of Police that ZEC officers would not be targeted and their safety and security would be guaranteed during the second election and in its aftermath.
Assurances should also be given that all local observers will be allowed to continue to fulfil their obligations as stipulated by law. It should also be possible to increase the number of accredited observers if this is deemed necessary, to ensure state compliance with electoral law and procedure at all times, especially, but not limited to, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and its member organisations.
Analysts also called for strict compliance by the authorities with the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Electoral Act, especially regarding the posting of results outside polling stations immediately after counting and tabulation has been completed.
Petras said: "ZLHR wishes to finally make it very clear that there will be zero tolerance for any attempts by the incumbent president to utilise his disputed and unconstitutional powers or any other means to amend in any way the current electoral laws and processes, most particularly the time-frame within which any second election must be held -- the deadline of which is on or before 24 May 2008."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Financial Gazette. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
