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COTRAD report: January - April 2012
Community Tolerance Reconciliation and Development (COTRAD)
April 26, 2012

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Background

The history of elections in Zimbabwe has been associated with political violence a culture and reason most youths and women did not fully participate in the previous elections, the constitutional making processes and decision making processes. The Zimbabwean political landscape has remained volatile since the era of the year 2000 land invasions. Political violence became the normal than the exption more than ever with ZANU PF unleashing political violence and land invasions as a means to cling on power despite overwhelming unpopularity support from the populace. MDC which was formed in 1999 managed to win almost half of the 2000 parliamentary seats despite the elections having been marred by political violence and state repression. During the controversial June 2008 elections a lot of violence was recorded and Masvingo province recorded the highest number of cases out of all the10 provinces of Zimbabwe with Zaka district being highest.

On 15 September 2008 the GPA was forged and it gave to birth of the Global Political Agreement (G. P. A) which has overwhelmingly become dysfunctional. Article 18 of the GPA gave the provision of security of persons and preventing of violence which cemented the establishment of the organ of national healing (ONHRI) which has overwhelmingly failed to be functional since its inception. There were few cases of politically motivated violence recorded during the period of the GNU and a survey carried out by MPOI shows that this was mainly because people believed in the stabilization of the three legged coalition government.

The GNU failed to address the plights of the victims of political violence and the calling for elections has already witnessed the rise of political violence. There has been little civic education on tolerance and reconciliation across the political divide and the security sector has not yet brought to book those who perpetrated violence in 2008. Zaka district and Bikita districts of Masvingo province received very little civic education as they remained areas for civic organisation despite having recorded the highest cases of political valance during the 2008 controversial elections. The governor of Masvingo province Titus Maluleke suspended 29 NGO on February 14, 2012 which were providing humanitarian assistance and civic education on human rights. This has left the traditional chiefs with the power to access food from Grain Marketing Board which they distributed along party lines and this has seen an increase in the cases of politically motivated violence perpetrated by traditional chiefs.

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