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Election
Bulletin
Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition
February 22, 2002
Zimbabwe
Presidential Elections: implications for Southern Africa
By
Takura Zhangazha
The Southern
African region does not have a rosy history of electoral transition.
From its anti-colonial struggles where millions of lives were lost
and whose legacy still lives in liberation movements turned into
ruling parties, the politics of various countries in the sub-region
are still a long way from delivering democracy. The region has had
various ways of dealing with political crises as they occur but
the Zimbabwean situation is a unique one. It is unique in that it
poses a great deal of threat to the political stability of one of
Africa’s less violent regions as well as emerges as a test to the
regional political leadership as to their commitment o the principle
of democracy.
The Southern
African Development Community (SADC) has been a very crucial body
in terms of dealing with the Zimbabwean governance crises. SADC
however has not necessarily lived up to the challenge at hand. It
has shown commitment to the sovereignty of Zimbabwe but without
addressing the all-important question of whether there is democratic
practice and good governance in Zimbabwe. By implication the actions
of SADC have shown that it has a great deal of respect for institutions
of government and laws that are established by various institutions
regardless of whether the laws produced are democratic or not. The
rule of law for SADC seems to mean laws that are produced by institutions
such as Parliament and obedience to these laws regardless of whether
they are democratic or not. It has tacitly endorsed the actions
of the Mugabe government without listening attentively to the oppositions
or civic society’s side of the story. The arrest of civic organisation
members from the Crises in Zimbabwe Committee in Malawi without
adequate explanation is enough to show the limited understanding
that the region has of democracy and democratic process.
An important
question that invariably emerges is one that queries what the implications
of this political lethargy in SADC are for the region. Fundamentally
the indication is that within the region there is a limited cultivation
of a truly democratic culture that goes beyond just the setting
of institutions that connote democracy. Most of SADC’s heads of
state have missed the all-important question that was raised by
Nyerere, "the mechanisms of democracy are not the meaning of
democracy." And we hasten to add that the true essence of democracy
is to have institutions and governments that respect the will of
the people regardless of whom this will turns out to favour.
The second implication
for the region is that there will be less of a moral justification
for SADC to challenge any undemocratic tendencies in member states.
The softly softly approach that has been undertaken by SADC as well
as the African Union has set a precedent where leaders that are
clearly undemocratic can still get away with it. Internationally,
institutions such as SADC are going to be measured against the actions
taken by other international organisations such as the European
Union and the Commonwealth, much to the effect that SADC will lose
its international standing as a respectable and serious grouping
of states.
In conclusion,
it is evident that the region stands to lose a lot of ground gained
if it does not try to ensure that the elections in Zimbabwe are
free and fair even in the little time that is left. The fear that
some African leaders have over being seen to be too harsh on a fellow
State President is unfounded. Where and when democracy is at stake,
old friendships should be put aside and the principle of free, fair
and regular elections be upheld for the whole world to envy a decisive
region that is looking ahead and not always lamenting about the
past.
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