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Free
and fair elections are a right
Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition
January 29, 2004
Preamble
With only
a year left to go into yet another general election, we call upon the
government to ensure the incorporation of the basic norms and standards
for the conduct of a free and fair election as established by the SADC
Parliamentary Forum.
Since the June 2000
parliamentary elections, the youth militia, war veterans and members of
the uniformed forces (the army and the police) have been cited as some
of the perpetrators of violence. Much to our disappointment, there is
no action that has been taken by the police to bring to book all perpetrators
of violence. Infact some of these criminals were freed by President Robert
Mugabe’s Clemency Order of 2000. The June 2000 parliamentary elections
were characterised by massive violence, including physical and psychological
torture of the voters. We are also perturbed by the fact that there is
no improvement in the way election campaigns are conducted, the latest
example being the Gutu North by-election where militia bases have been
set up at Zvavahera and other stations to intimidate voters.
Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition demands the following:
1. Disband the
Youth Militia
The coalition
also notes with concern that since the June 2000 parliamentary elections
there has been systematic use of violence by candidates to intimidate
the voters. We realise that this has been the trend with all the parliamentary
by-elections that have been conducted during the run up to the Presidential
elections held on the 9th to the 10th of March 2002.
We condemn strongly
the use of violence and the subsequent intimidation and torture of the
voters by the youth militia to force people to vote for a political party
or candidate they do not support. We realise that to date, more than 200
deaths that have been recorded were due to political violence. Many people,
particularly in the rural areas have been subjected to torture if they
are suspected to be members of the opposition. The political opposition
has been failing to campaign freely in the rural areas because these have
been declared "no-go areas".
We call for the disbanding
of the youth militia and the immediate rehabilitation of the Border Gezi
graduates who are wreaking havoc in the country. It is only after the
disbanding of the youth militia that Zimbabwe can experience a free and
fair election. We also urge the youth to desist from being used as canon
fodder by the politicians for no meaningful gains other than being given
money to buy beer.
2. Independent
Electoral Commission
Crisis Coalition
calls for the setting up of an Independent Electoral Commission to manage
the election process. The Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) appointed
by the President and is responsible for supervising the registration of
voters and conducting the elections executes its duties in a partisan
manner especially on the appointment of election monitors and observers.
Many civil society organisations have been refused to conduct voter education
campaigns and this responsibility has been left to the ESC, which was
appointed by President Mugabe. We call for the repeal of the General Laws
Amendment Act of 2000,which gives the ESC monopoly on voter education.
The prohibition of civil society to conduct voter education is ultra
vires the constitution that enshrines the fundamental rights of access
to information and freedom of assembly and association. The independent
electoral commission we envisage must be free from executive control and
must run the elections professionally and in accordance with internationally
approved standards and norms.
3. Media Coverage
of Elections
All competing
political candidates must have access to the public media rather than
the partisan coverage of contesting candidates, as is the case with the
public broadcaster, ZBC and the Zimpapers stable of newspapers. The public
media must be accessible to all contesting parties.
The public media has
been used to prop up the ruling Zanu PF party candidates. There has been
no equitable coverage of the elections and this has had a profound effect
on the election outcome since many people rely on the media. This is more
so, especially considering that voter education on the part of civil society
has been outlawed.
The state’s monopoly
of radio and television has seen unfair coverage of elections, with independent
candidates and opposition parties being denied the opportunity to present
their policies on either radio or television. We are once again vindicated
on the need for a new democratic constitution that guarantees and protects
universal suffrage.
We strongly believe
that it is only after the restoration of these demands that will mark
Zimbabwe as a sound democracy. A free and fair election is everyone’s
right.
Visit the Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition fact
sheet
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