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Election
Climate Report No. 07
National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA)
March
04, 2005
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The
Election Climate Reports are produced by the NCA in order to provide
information on the prevailing climate for citizen participation
in the forthcoming Parliamentary Election. The NCA has already communicated
its condemnation of the constitutional framework under which the
elections are being conducted. The Report is a consolidated statement
of the reports sent in by a national network of community monitors.
The
community reports sample a number of electoral "atmospherics"
(described below), which aim to provide a clear description of the
state of affairs prevailing in any one constituency:
- Freedom of
Association;
- Freedom of
Assembly;
- Freedom of
Movement;
- Freedom of
Expression;
- Incidence
of Political Violence;
- Disputes
over electoral procedures and electoral irregularities;
- Occurrence
of voter education;
- Use of food
as a political weapon.
The
reports sample 18 critical indicators and hence provide a simple
score for any one constituency, which we have termed the "Electoral
Irregularity" [EI] score: the higher the EI score, the worse
the electoral climate in a constituency.
Overview
At
the outset, we must apologise for the inclusion of Bubi Umguza in
the data relating to Matabeleland South in the previous report:
this constituency should be reported upon as part of Matabeleland
North.
This
is the second report on Matebeleland South, and
the data is taken from the first week of March. Some of the constituencies
in this second report were not included in the first report as no
data had been received on these constituencies. The EI Ratings
are not extremely high, but the average EI rating is 8, which
is a slight increase on the previous EI rating of 8. The
highest score was obtained from Gwanda South [11], whilst Beitbridge
[5] had the lowest rating. As is seen for the figure over, the ratings
worsened in Gwanda North, Gwanda South, and Matobo, stayed the same
in Umzingwane, and improved in Insiza.
All
constituencies reported interference with the freedom of expression,
whilst a majority reported interference with the freedom of association.
A small majority – Gwanda North, Gwanda South, and Matobo – reported
interference with freedom of movement, and a majority reported no
interference with freedom of assembly.
Political
violence, mostly as hate speech, threats, and intimidation, was
reported by the majority of constituencies, as was the political
use of food. Once again there was virtually no formal voter education,
which is becoming a serious matter with the elections now imminent.
The NCA calls
upon all concerned parties – government, the political parties,
and the civics concerned with peace building – to take immediate
steps to investigate these allegations, and to take firm steps to
correct all irregularities confirmed.
Matebeleland
South
As can be seen from the figure above, there is some variability
in the EI ratings, but 3 constituencies reported the same rating
- Insiza [8], Matobo [8], and Umzingwane [8]. Both the Gwanda
constituencies had higher EI ratings, with Gwanda South showing
a very large deterioration from 2 weeks ago. The overall increase
in election irregularities is a cause for concern as the campaigns
around the election heat up.
Most constituencies reported
interference with freedom of association, with members of the opposition
reportedly unable to wear their party insignia, and prevented from
putting up their posters. In Gwanda North and Beitbridge, no reports
of infringement were made, but, in Matobo and Gwanda South, it was
reported that ZanuPF had trouble in exercising their freedom of
association.
Freedom of assembly was
interfered with in several constituencies, where people were forced
to attend ZanuPF meetings: it was alleged that they are told that
if they fail to attend they will not get maize from the GMB. People
in Gwanda South, Matobo, Gwanda North, and Umzingwane were not forced
to go to any meetings, but, in Beitbridge, the MDC had forced attendance
to their political meetings. Both parties were able to hold their
meetings in most areas, although ZanuPF held a larger number than
the MDC. In Insiza, for example, ZanuPF held 5 meetings whilst the
MDC held none.
Interference with freedom
of movement was reported in Gwanda South (Ntepe Business Centre),
Gwanda, Umzingwane, and Matobo. Reports indicated that Zanu PF supporters,
youths, and the police harass and interrogate people travelling
at night, and that, in some of the areas, there are curfews. It
was reported that local residents are threatened with displacement
if they are non- ZanuPF: this was reported in Gwezha 3 in Matobo.
Freedom of expression
was reported as being interfered with in all constituencies. It
is still reported that residents of Matabeleland South are not at
liberty to express themselves freely or read the newspapers of their
choice. In Gwanda South, residents have been threatened by the chiefs,
and it is reported that they keep their opinions to themselves.
ZanuPF is reported to be forcing people to chant their party slogans,
especially at food distribution centres. In Umzingwane, people were
forced to chant when getting funds in the food for work programmes,
in Insiza, members of ZIMCET were forced to chant slogans during
a meeting at Filabusi. Chiefs and war veterans were reported to
force people to chant ZanuPF slogans in Gwanda South.
Although generally physical
violence remains low, three reports of violence were made: an MDC
youth was assaulted by ZanuPF militia in Gwanda North, apparently
because he was wearing a MDC T-shirt. In Matobo, there was a reported
case of assault by ZanuPF supporters by fellow ZanuPF supporters,
and, in Gwanda South, there was a report of sexual assault of one
ZanuPF supporter, but it is not stated who the perpetrator was.
Reports of gender based violence were also low, the only reports
came from Matobo, and they mainly referred to forced attendance
at a party base involving ZanuPF, MDC, and members of civic organisations.
Reports of hate speech
and intimidation were common, and the reports reflected that this
was being done by Zanu PF against the MDC and other parties. These
reports came from Insiza, Beitbridge, Matobo, Umzimgwane, Gwanda
North, and Gwanda South. It was also reported that there are militia
bases in Gwanda North, with at least two militias having been placed
in each village. In Gwanda North, the militia base is reported as
being at Guyu Vocational Centre, whilst, in Gwanda South, the militia
base is reported to be at Enyu.
Both inter- and intra-party violence was reported in Matabeleland
South. Intra party violence involving the MDC was only reported
in Matobo, whilst intra-party violence amongst ZanuPF was reported
in more than 3 constituencies. Inter-party violence was reported
to be usually instigated by ZanuPF against the MDC and others.
There were few electoral
disagreements, with reports only from Beitbridge and Gwanda South.
Only three reports of the ESC conducting voter education were available,
and this was in a single constituency, Gwanda South. In the other
constituencies, voter education is being conducted by the political
parties at their rallies. ZESN was reported to be doing some voter
education in Gwanda South, but, in all other constituencies, it
was reported that civic organisations have been banned from voter
education.
The political use of
food was reported in a majority of the constituencies. It was reported
that ZanuPF is using food as a campaign tool in a lot of the constituencies,
giving food to those carrying party cards only, and also that those
who do not attend Zanu meetings are not given maize. It was reported
that war veterans are used to check everyone to see if they are
carrying genuine cards.
Recommendations
The election climate in Matabeleland South has worsened slightly
in the past 2 weeks, and this is a matter for serious concern with
the election approaching rapidly. All constituencies reported interference
with the freedom of expression, whilst a majority reported interference
with the freedom of association. A small majority - Gwanda
North, Gwanda South, and Matobo - reported interference with
freedom of movement, and a majority reported no interference with
freedom of assembly.
Political violence, mostly
as hate speech, threats, and intimidation, was reported by the majority
of constituencies, as was the political use of food. Once again
there was virtually no formal voter education, which is becoming
a serious matter with the elections now imminent.
There is a pressing need
to build a climate of peace and tolerance, and the NCA calls upon
all organizations concerned with peace building to investigate these
allegations, and to take immediate steps to rectify all problems
identified.
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