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Mauritius Watch Issue 22
Sokwanele
Extracted from Issue 22
March 28, 2005

On 17 August 2004, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders meeting in Mauritius adopted the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. Zimbabwe, as a member of SADC, also signed the Declaration and committed itself to implementing the standards. The Mugabe regime claims that it is compliant with these standards and thereby invites a comparison between its own electoral and security legislation and its actions on the one hand, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines on the other.

For 22 weeks now "Mauritius Watch" has tracked the performance of the Mugabe regime, providing an objective and non-partisan assessment of its compliance with these principles and guidelines. Week by week in the run-up to the 2005 Parliamentary Elections, we have chronicled the regime’s more blatant breaches of the SADC standards. Over this period a very clear picture has emerged, on which we have commented from time to time.

What do the various electoral observers and analysts have to say about the process which is due to be completed with the national poll, just days away now? We will be bringing you a summary of the findings of the different monitoring groups, human rights, labour, civic and church groups in a Special Edition of Mauritius Watch which we intend to publish on the eve of the elections.

For our part we are persuaded by the overwhelming weight of evidence, carefully assessed over a period in excess of six months, that the elections are deeply flawed, in no way satisfy the SADC principles and guidelines, and cannot possibly be considered "free and fair".

Our views are best summarised by the words of Elinor Sisulu in a recent article she contributed to the Sunday Times (the full text of which is given below). Ms Sisulu said:

24.03.05 : OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS DENIED FOOD
Villagers in the rural constituency of Insiza have denounced the government and the ruling ZANU-PF party for denying them food in order to force them to vote for the ruling party in next week’s parliamentary election. Reports of the most blatant votes-for-food electioneering by ZANU-PF come in the wake of Robert Mugabe’s assurances that no Zimbabweans would starve. The regime which all along claimed it had registered a bumper harvest last year, now admits there is a serious food shortage.

According to villagers who were interviewed last week, ZANU-PF district structures operating under the party’s candidate for the area, Andrew Langa, have given them two choices for their survival. They must either vote for ZANU-PF and get food relief or support the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party and go without food … Most of the villagers interviewed said they would rather die of hunger than back ZANU-PF, a party they have never supported in their lives.

(Comments from the villagers are reported in the article which appeared on the Daily News Online Edition: www.daily-news.co.za 24.03.05)

SADC standards breached

• 2.1.3 Political tolerance
• 4.1.1 Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of the citizens
• 4.1.2 Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4 (Government to) safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens including the freedom of movement, assembly, association, expression and campaigning … during the electoral process
• 7.7 (Government to) ensure that adequate security is provided to all parties participating in the elections

25.03.05 : UNMONITORED VOTING BY SOLDIERS
The March 31 election has been plunged into fresh controversy that threatens to undermine its credibility totally, with the revelation that the uniformed forces, seen as sympathetic to ZANU-PF, have already cast their ballots. Although the Electoral Act allows members of the armed forces to vote ahead of time, opposition groups are deeply suspicious about the covert way in which the exercise was undertaken, and the lack of any independent monitoring.

The announcement by Justice George Chiweshe, chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), that the ballots were sealed on March 18, 13 days before voting day, was met with surprise and outrage by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Chiweshe refused to disclose the number of votes cast or the constituencies in which they were cast – information which is considered essential to prevent major fraud by this means.

MDC spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi protested about the lack of consultation with his party and expressed concern about the neutrality of the senior army officers involved in the process. Analysts also expressed concern about the fact that the ballots had been sealed ahead of the training of presiding officers and polling officers.

(Reported in News 24 (SA): www.news24.com 24.03.05)

SADC standards breached

• 2.1.3 Political tolerance
• 2.1.6 Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
• 4.1.1 Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of the citizens
• 7.4 (Government to) safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens including the freedom of movement, assembly, association, expression and campaigning
• 7.5 (Government to) take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging or any other illegal practices throughout the whole electoral process

26.03.05 : SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS USE UNFAIR INFLUENCE
Junior police officers in the opposition-supporting Matabeleland region, who voted last week by postal ballot, were ordered to sing the national anthem first before voting and to place their ballot papers in envelopes bearing their names. They were also harangued by senior officers into voting for ZANU-PF.

Hundreds of police officers interviewed told of how they were called out to station parade squares and addressed by senior commanders who reminded them they should vote to defend Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and not sell the gains of independence back to British Prime Minister, Tony Blair – standard ZANU-PF campaigning rhetoric.

Opposition MDC spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi said that his party would definitely be challenging this kind of postal ballot "because not all political parties were represented there to see to it that the system is fair."

(Reported in Zim Online: www.zimonline.co.za 26.03.05)

• 7.5 (Government to) take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging or any other illegal practices throughout the whole electoral process …
• 7.9 (Government to) ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process by facilitating the deployment of representatives of political parties …. and by accrediting national and / other observers / monitors

24.03.05 : ELECTORAL BODIES UNDER FIRE
With parliamentary elections only days away, Zimbabwe’s electoral authorities have come under fire for practices which the opposition and an observer group have pointed out could be used to rig the ballot. They cited as reasons for concern unmonitored voting by soldiers (referred to above), the influence of traditional chiefs on voting and the fact that voters were still being registered, although voter registration officially ended on February 4 (story below).

In the first indication of criticism by official observers, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, head of an observer delegation from SADC, said she was "not satisfied with the explanation of the authorities about constant complaints that ZANU-PF had ensured that traditional chiefs would control voting queues at polling stations to ensure people voted for ZANU-PF."

The Zimbabwe Support Election Network (ZSEN) a private voluntary organisation, last week published a list of 25 polling stations which it said were situated at the homes of chiefs and in military bases.

(See the full report in News 24 (SA): www.news24.com 24.03.05)
(Also reported in Zim Online: www.zimonline.co.za 24.03.05)

SADC standards breached

• 2.1.7 Independence of the Judiciary and impartiality of electoral institutions
• 7.3 (Government to) establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral bodies …

24.03.05 : VOTERS STILL BEING REGISTERED
The Registrar-General’s office is still registering voters more than a month after the closure of the current registration exercise and only days before the elections. It is reported that the registration process is in full swing in some areas, especially in Norton, where people are being bussed in from informal settlements such as Tongagara on the outskirts of Harare.

Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede admitted that voters were still being registered, though he claimed that those registered after the February 4 deadline would not be permitted to vote in this parliamentary election. He did not say how their right to vote would be distinguished from the rights of others registered before February 4. Harare Central independent candidate Margaret Dongo, claims that those being registered after the deadline will have their names included in the supplementary voters’ roll which is yet to be made public. She alleges that Mudede deliberately delayed issuing the supplementary roll to accommodate these new voters.

The Zimbabwe Independent also cites evidence that only confirmed ZANU-PF supporters are being allowed to register late.

(See the full report in The Zimbabwe Independent: www.theindependent.co.zw 24.03.05)

SADC standards breached

• 2.1.6 Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
• 2.1.7 Independence of the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral institutions
• 4.1.3 Non-discrimination in the voters’ registration
• 4.1.4 Existence of updated and accessible voters’ roll
• 7.3 (Government to) establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral bodies

14.03.05 : NEUTRALITY OF ELECTORAL COMMISSION IN DOUBT
In a move that has raised further serious doubts about the neutrality of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), set up recently by the Mugabe regime to oversee the forthcoming parliamentary election, the commission has appealed to the Supreme Court against a decision of the Electoral Court to allow jailed Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidate Roy Bennett to contest the poll.

The electoral court, whose verdict is intended to be final and not subject to appeal, last week overturned a decision by Nomination Court officials to bar Bennett from contesting because he is in prison. Bennett, one of the MDC’s most popular MPs, was jailed by parliament last year after the ruling ZANU-PF party used its majority to vote for him to be sent to prison for 12 months for pushing Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa to the floor when the latter had taunted him severely in the House.

Electoral Court judge Tendai Uchena however over-ruled the Nomination Court officials. He nullified the ban on Bennett and postponed polling in his Chimanimani constituency from March 31 to April 30 to allow the opposition candidate time to campaign. The judge’s ruling angered Robert Mugabe who attacked it in public, saying it was unacceptable.

The latest move of the ZEC to appeal Justice Uchena’s judgment to the Supreme Court is by inference an endorsement of Mugabe’s view. MDC spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi questioned the ZEC’s wisdom and said it put the commission’s neutrality in question.

(Report in Zim Online: www.zimonline.co.za 24.03.05)

SADC standards breached

• 2.1.7 Independence of the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral institutions
• 7.3 (Government to) establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral bodies …

24.03.05 : ABUSE OF CHILDREN IN MUGABE’S CAMPAIGN
As ZANU-PF becomes increasingly embarrassed by the poor turnout of voters at its rallies, the party has resorted to filling the large gaps with docile school children who are in no position to protest their exploitation.

In what has now become a feature of Robert Mugabe’s own campaign rallies, again and again innocent children are made to sit in the baking sun for hours on end, awaiting the arrival of the "royal" motorcade. In one instance children at Tafara High School were huddled together like sheep in the open ground and made to wait in excess of five hours, to ensure there was a respectable number gathered when the aging leader appeared. The youth militia or "Green Bombers" were used to marshal the school children and keep them from complaining.

One parent, Aaron Mpofu, whose son attends the primary school in Tafara, complained bitterly over the use of children in political campaigns.

"Our children went to school at 8.00 am," he said, "and were not allowed to leave the school grounds by the militia manning the gates. They spent the whole day hungry but the president only came after 3.00 pm. This is not fair at all."

More than 300 kilometres east of the capital, in Chimanimani, hundreds of schoolchildren were forced to walk a gruelling five- kilometre journey to Gaza Stadium, the venue of another of Mugabe’s rallies last week.

University of Zimbabwe law lecturer Lovemore Madhuku, said the practice amounted to abuse of children.

(Reported in Zim Online: www.zimonline.co.za 24.03.05)

SADC standards breached

• 4.1.1 Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of the citizens
• 4.1.2 Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4 (Government to) safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens including the freedom of movement, assembly, association (and) expression … during the electoral process

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