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Delay in election results & the national political environment
Zimbabwean Civil Society Organisations
April 04, 2008

Zimbabwean civil society expresses its gravest concern at the unacceptable delay in the release of poll results for local government, House of Assembly, Senate and Presidential elections. We find the reasons given by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) for this delay to be inadequate as all of the results were displayed outside all polling stations at the close of counting and verification on 29 March 2008 and were therefore in the public domain. We therefore call upon ZEC to release these results urgently to restore some measure of public confidence in the electoral process.

We also call upon the establishment to desist from unlawfully arresting or threatening with arrest, foreign or local journalists, opposition political party leaders/activists and civil society leaders/activists at such a sensitive national political moment in Zimbabwe. We have been informed that as of last night (3 April 2008) armed Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) personnel had raided local hotels and arrested and detained at least 3 journalists and a number of people celebrating House of Assembly victories in some parts of the country for reasons best known to themselves. Such actions, on the part of the ZRP and those in charge of them can only but add to the serious suspicions by the electorate that their vote is not being respected.

We also have it on good and reliable record that the Zanu Pf party has already embarked on a retributive and violent campaign before the final results for the Senate and Presidential elections have been announced. It is our view that such actions show lack of respect for the will of the people.

Further to this, and in the event that there is no clear winner in the Presidential election result, a circumstance that will necessitate an electoral run off in terms of Section 110 of the Electoral Act, we urge the ZEC to ensure that said run-off is undertaken within 21 days as is outlined by the Electoral Act. This is said because, we have it on reliable knowledge that the government has the undemocratic intention of extending the period for the holding of a run-off Presidential election from 21 to 90 days using disputed and autocractic Presidential powers on the pretext that the ZEC is ill-prepared to hold it in the stipulated period. We hold that this is unacceptable given the anxiety that is gripping the nation and given that in essence, such a move is patently undemocratic and has all the vestiges of creating a serious constitutional and political crisis of tremendous proportions. We therefore insist and call upon ZEC to follow the Electoral Act and ensure that the processes of a run-off, should there be one, are democratic and instil confidence in the electorate that the ballot will not be subject to arbitrary and undemocratic procedures.

For more information contact MISA Zimbabwe

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