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A
fight to the finish
Mail & Guardian (SA)
November 10, 2007
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=324481&area=/insight/insight__africa/
Just four months before
scheduled elections, and with a breakthrough in talks brokered by
President Thabo Mbeki in sight, Zimbabweans are watching in dismay
as the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) disintegrates
and Zanu PF tweaks electoral regulations in its favour. Recently,
there have been violent clashes between supporters of the MDC, reflecting
bitter divisions between Morgan Tsvangirai and some of his most
senior officials, partly over his refusal to keep secret details
of meetings the MDC has been holding with Zanu PF since April. But
Tsvangirai's spokesperson Nelson Chamisa this week sought to play
down fears of a further split in the MDC: "The MDC as a democratic
institution has sufficient mechanisms to deal with both the internal
and external challenges that are fairly inevitable in such a mass-based
organisation." But the row has added currency to debate about
the emergence of a "third way", a new movement made up
of disgruntled elements from both the MDC and Zanu PF, where anger
remains over President Robert Mugabe's decision to stand for a sixth
term next year. Mugabe had previously stated that he would retire
in 2008, but now says he can no longer trust his top lieutenants
to preserve the unity of his Zanu PF party. But critics doubt there
is any real prospect of the emergence of a third party and have
instead slammed the opposition for allowing internal fighting to
blind it to what they say are moves by Zanu PF to pad its own nest
as elections draw closer. This week Mugabe ignored a key agreement
with the opposition on the formation by Parliament of a new electoral
body to run the elections, quietly stuffing the existing Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC) with a new batch of loyalists.
Both parties
had agreed to provisions, under Constitutional
Amendment 18, which was enacted in September, establishing a
new body that would register voters, demarcate constituencies and
oversee preparations for elections. But Zanu PF appears to be willing
only to go as far as changing a few faces in the important body.
New appointments to the ZEC include figures previously employed
as senior civil servants, including in the Registrar General's office,
which has run a voters' roll so inefficient it has even been criticised
by Zanu PF itself. Ian Makone, head of elections for Tsvangirai,
and Paul Themba-Nyathi of the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC faction,
said they will now press for the urgent enactment of an Electoral
Laws Amendment Bill, which would effectively transfer all operations
of commission to parliament, as agreed. This week ZEC chairperson
George Chiweshe rejected the opposition's demands to be included
in preparations for elections, saying his commission was independent,
as "the Constitution says we shall not be under anyone's influence
... that is exactly what we will follow". But a spokesperson
for the National Constitutional Assembly, a group allied to the
opposition that is campaigning for a new constitution, said the
recent senior appointments to the ZEC were "a clear testimony
of Zanu PF's intention to run a controversial election next year.
It also shows the lack of seriousness on the part of the government
to guarantee a free and fair election in this country." He
said the opposition parties needed to stop the infighting and concentrate
on blocking Zanu PF from taking any further action that will undermine
the credibility of next year's election.
Tsvangirai himself has
dismissed suggestions that his fight with internal rivals has taken
his attention away from elections, but he has repeated his doubts
that the government really wants a free poll. "The level of
suffering of the majority of our people cannot be postponed any
longer. People have no food, jobs, transport, drugs, water and power.
The list is endless. We need to resolve the national crisis now,
rather than later. This can only be done by creating the necessary
environment for a free and fair election where Zimbabweans can freely
choose a government of their choice, which can then immediately
resolve the myriad economic problems besetting the country,"
he was quoted as saying this week. In spite of the internal battles,
there appears to be some acknowledgement from the opposition that
they face a big battle if elections next March are to be free and
fair. Eddie Cross, a policy adviser to Tsvangirai, said: "The
talks in South Africa are almost concluded - five months later than
originally intended, the date for the elections is yet to be decided
and then we get into the issue of the transition and the management
of the election itself. Believe me, this is going to be a fight
to the finish."
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