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A
gloomy election countdown begins
Wilson Johwa,
Inter Press Service (IPS)
January 03, 2005
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=26890
BULAWAYO - And so, another year in Zimbabwe – and in less than three
months time, another election. It is a prospect that few seem to
welcome.
Compare the political environment in the country now to what it
was ahead of the last parliamentary poll in 2000, and the lack of
voter enthusiasm is not hard to understand.
To begin with, a raft of repressive legislation has been passed
that would be the envy of ruling parties elsewhere which are seeking
re-election.
The Public Order and Security Act, passed in January 2002, gives
officials the power to ban political rallies. It has also criminalized
statements which could be seen to undermine the authority of the
president, insult him or spark feelings of hostility towards him
– thereby sounding the death knell for the average opposition stump
speech.
The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (passed
in March 2002) has restricted the activities of the independent
press by obliging journalists to obtain accreditation from a government-appointed
Media Information Commission.
"Local journalists risk criminal charges if they try to speak the
truth. Besides, where would they publish? Most dissenting media
voices have long ago been shut down," says an internet-based activist
group, Sokwanele (which means "enough").
In addition, a Non-governmental Organisations Act, given the green
light by parliament last month, bans foreign human rights groups
from working in Zimbabwe. It also prohibits local non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) that focus on rights from receiving foreign
funding.
As money for financing these organisations is scarce in Zimbabwe
itself, the bill could force many local NGOs to close their doors
– including several that deal with voter education. This prompted
the European Union (EU) to note in a statement issued Dec. 22 that
the NGO Act, which still awaits President Robert Mugabe’s signature,
"could have a significant negative impact on the forthcoming elections
in Zimbabwe."
Then again, those groups which do survive the funding crunch may
also find themselves prevented from educating voters. The Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC) Bill, also enacted last month, empowers
the newly-created commission to decide which organisations should
be allowed to raise awareness amongst voters.
The establishment of the ZEC was apparently intended to bring Zimbabwe
in conformity with a set of electoral guidelines adopted in August
2004 by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Amongst other things, these stipulate that polls should be supervised
by impartial institutions, that all parties should have access to
state media – and that campaigns should be free of political harassment.
Last November, the government-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
(ZBC) refused to accept adverts for the opposition despite guarantees
of payment. The ZBC also routinely condemns the main opposition
party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
However, the New York-based Human Rights Watch and others point
out that the way in which ZEC commissioners are appointed still
gives government too much say over who sits on the body.
"They (the ruling ZANU-PF party) have put everything in place to
win the elections," says Lovemore Madhuku, head of the National
Constitutional Assembly – a body which lobbies for constitutional
reform in Zimbabwe.
As a result, the MDC has suspended its participation in the March
vote. Party officials say a final decision on whether to contest
the poll will be taken this month, on the basis of whether government
has made real progress in adopting the SADC guidelines.
But, "There is more to gain by not participating and mounting a
campaign to build a mass movement," observes Madhuku.
Opposition followers were the recipients of sustained abuse and
harassment by state agents and pro-government militants in the run
up to the 2000 parliamentary elections and the 2002 presidential
poll, (about 30 lives were lost in the parliamentary election alone).
This prompted the EU and United States to impose economic sanctions
and travel restrictions on Mugabe and other high-ranking officials.
For his part, the president accuses Western powers of conspiring
with the opposition to topple his government. ZANU-PF has dubbed
the upcoming poll an "anti-Blair election", in reference to British
Prime Minister Tony Blair.
While the members of Zimbabwe’s political elite appear well-insulated
from any threat to their financial wellbeing, the same cannot be
said for ordinary Zimbabweans.
Government’s controversial land redistribution programme and a costly
involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s civil war are
amongst the factors that have led to precipitous economic decline
in Zimbabwe.
The land reform initiative began in early 2000, when veterans of
Zimbabwe’s war of independence and other militants occupied white-owned
farms, reportedly to protest against racial imbalances in land ownership
that dated back to the colonial era.
While most of the country’s prime agricultural land was in the hands
of minority whites at the time, it has since been alleged that the
farm invasions were orchestrated by government in a bid to gain
public support ahead of the 2000 parliamentary poll.
In the five years that followed, Zimbabwe’s economy contracted by
40 percent due to ravages in the agricultural sector – and the resultant
uncertainty in other areas of business. Inflation, down from 623
percent last January, is still at a staggering 149 percent. Unemployment
runs at 70 percent.
Food production also dropped dramatically. This, combined with the
effects of a ruinous drought that has affected several SADC countries
over recent years, has put millions of Zimbabweans in the position
of requiring food aid.
In May last year, Harare prevented the United Nations World Food
Programme from updating its assessment of the amount of aid needed
in the country. This has raised fears that the supplies which are
available will be distributed to gain votes, rather than on the
basis of need.
"There’s no doubt that the cleavages of discontent have widened,"
says Brian Kagoro, chairman of Crisis in Zimbabwe – a coalition
of civil society organisations.
While some claim that levels of repression in Zimbabwe are lower
than they were ahead of the 2000 and 2002 votes, largely because
ZANU-PF is confident of a victory in March, the MDC has issued a
report that details extensive human rights abuses against its members
last year.
The party says seven of its legislators, 53 MDC officials and hundreds
of activists were subject to arbitrary arrest, abductions, intimidation,
assault, rape and destruction of property in 2004.
Fear of abuse and financial need have driven vast numbers of Zimbabweans
abroad to South Africa, Britain and elsewhere (some estimate that
60 to 70 percent of the productive adult population, more than three
million people, has left the country).
Most of these individuals will be unable to vote in the March poll.
The Electoral Bill, passed shortly after the ZEC Bill, restricts
the casting of postal ballots to government employees and their
spouses.
Dissenting voices within ZANU-PF have been dealt with as ruthlessly
as those outside the party. "ZANU-PF has become increasingly authoritarian
in its own internal politics," notes Kagoro.
Perhaps the most high-profile victim of these actions has been Information
Minister Jonathan Moyo, who was removed from the highest decision-making
body in ZANU-PF last month. This came after he organised a meeting
of ruling party members to oppose the election of Joyce Majuru,
who enjoys the support of Mugabe, to the post of vice president.
Moyo also had well-publicised differences with other ZANU-PF stalwarts.
Additional reports, denied by government, indicate that he has tendered
his resignation.
ZANU-PF has been in power in Zimbabwe since the country gained independence
from Britain in 1980.
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