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Report on Zimbabwe's 2005 General Election - Final Copy
Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN)
April 2005

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Introduction
The Zimbabwean parliamentary elections held on 31 March 2005 were the sixth since independence. But they were no less significant than previous elections. Although the country has held parliamentary elections every five years as per its Constitution, this has not meant that elections have been free from problems and controversy. Such was the case with the 2000 elections which were mired in intimidation, violence and controversy over the legitimacy of their outcome. There were a number of new aspects that make the 2005 elections significant. They were the first to be organized by the newly set up Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and to be held on a single day. The elections also witnessed the use of translucent ballot boxes and of visible indelible ink. Another fresh aspect and of profound regional significance was that the elections were held within the framework of the SADC Principles and Guidelines for Democratic Elections formulated and agreed upon by member states at a summit in Mauritius in August 2004. As the Report will explain in more, the Principles lay special stress on the need for certain conditions in order to meet the criteria for democratic elections. These are : freedom of assembly and association, freedom of expression, political tolerance, voter education, equal access to the media as well as the establishment of impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable election management bodies staffed by qualified personnel. Finally, the 2005 election campaign itself was relatively peaceful and tranquil compared to those of 2000 and 2002.

2. Catalytic Role of ZESN
This Report by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network examines the key issues of the 2005 election, its conduct and outcome. It provides the political, legal and constitutional background to the election and then makes an in-depth assessment of how the electoral process unfolded from the pre-election period, campaigning to polling and the post-election period. After highlighting the salient and weak aspects of the process, the Report develops recommendations for the improvement of the electoral system and process. To that extent, the Report is analytical, critical and constructive.

ZESN is a network of 35 human rights and civic organizations. It has membership structures in all provinces. The principal objectives and areas of operation of ZESN are four-fold: voter education, election observation, media monitoring and information, as well as advocacy and electoral reform research. Election observation by ZESN has included not only that of parliamentary, presidential and local government elections in Zimbabwe but also those in other countries particularly in the SADC region. In the 2005 election, ZESN deployed 260 long-term observers to observe the pre-election period. For the polling period, it deployed 6 000 accredited observers nationwide of whom 240 were mobile in different parts of the country. This Report draws on the extensive reports written by our field observers before and during election day and afterwards.

3. The Political and Legal Framework
The Report begins by sketching the country’s political background charting the rise of the nationalist and liberation movement, and the politics of the first two decades of independence. The dominant party system in which one party dominates the political landscape and especially parliament lasted between 1987 and 1999 following the merger between PF Zapu and Zanu PF. The birth of a vigorous opposition in the shape of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in the late 1990s caused a sea change in the nature of party politics in the country. The nature of party contest sharpened and became more acrimonious following the government’s 2000 referendum defeat and the tightly fought 2000 election. Chapter 1 observes how fragile the political institutions were and how the descent into coercion, lawlessness and political violence clouded the outcomes of the 2000 and 2002 elections. It is also observed that the electoral framework allows the President to appoint 30 non-constituency members of parliament of whom 10 are traditional leaders elected by an Electoral College of Chiefs. This gives an unfair advantage to the sitting President.

4.1 Delimitation Process
This Report assesses the process of demarcation that was carried out in the last quarter of 2004 in preparation for the 2005 election. It is observed that the process should have been more transparent than it was particularly in view of the scrapping of a number of constituencies in some provinces and the creation of a number of new ones in other provinces. The process inevitably drew the charge of possible gerrymandering in favour of one of the contesting parties. The stakeholders and general public should have had an input into the delimitation process so that constituencies reflect community interests. Finally, the Delimitation Commission report itself, which came out in December 2004, was not well publicized. This may explain the relatively high numbers of people (about 130 000 in six of the provinces) who were turned away from polling stations partly because they were in the wrong constituencies.

4.2 Voter Registration and Inspection
This Report observes that voter registration and inspection was a weak link in the electoral system. There was insufficient publicity about the process. Part of the explanation is that the office of the Registrar General was responsible for this process which experienced problems in previous elections. Thus the process was not supervised by an independent electoral body, ZEC, as required under the SADC Principles and Guidelines. ZEC became operational in February 2005 when registration was already at an advanced stage. The state of the voters’ roll was questionable; access to it was late and expensive. This Report recommends the overhauling of the voters’ roll and making it accessible to interested parties. There should be a constant updating of the voters’ roll.

4.3 Voter and Civic Education
Voter and civic education is indispensable in the preparation for democratic elections. This is especially the case in a society in which levels of literacy vary considerably between social groups, and between urban and rural areas. However, current legislation places restrictions on who may provide voter education although ZEC can permit other organizations (such as ZESN) to assist. The amount of voter education provided to potential voters was quite limited prior to the 2005 election. This limitation goes some way to explain the considerable proportion of voters turned away from polling stations, and the number of spoilt ballot papers. This Report observes that although ZEC disseminated adverts in the print and electronic media on the new arrangement of one-day voting, it did not highlight the new procedure of voting in three queues based on surnames. Nor did ZEC information emphasize where there had been changes in constituency boundaries or make constituency maps available. In future elections, there should be considerable focus and investment on voter and civic education.

4.4 Postal Voting and the Diaspora Vote
The issues of postal voting and the right of Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora to vote in the election were contentious ones. Misgivings were expressed in some quarters that the postal voting had not been transparent enough. ZESN recommends that the postal voting system should be administered in a manner that ensures accountability, transparency and secrecy of the ballot. There should be domestic and international observers present both when the opening of postal votes takes place, and when members of uniformed services vote. There need to be details with respect to the number of postal applications made and the constituencies to which these relate. Finally, there is a significant number of potential voters amongst the 2 to 3 million Zimbabweans living in the diaspora. They have a democratic right to participate in their home country’s elections: the same right of postal voting that those in the uniformed services and diplomatic service possess should be extended to them.

4.5 Counting, Transmission and Announcement of Results
This Report observes that it was good to introduce the provision that votes should be counted at polling stations to enhance transparency. In terms of the Electoral Act, once counting had been completed and the results conveyed to the constituency centre, the presiding officer of a particular polling station should display the results outside the station for the public to see. This was not done in some instances. Furthermore, some observers were unnecessarily ‘detained’ at polling stations even after counting had been completed. Electoral authorities should look into those instances. Had ZEC provided observers with unfettered access to vote counts at polling stations, ZESN would have been in a position to help verify results and assist in resolving election-related disputes. More generally, failure to display results at some polling stations reduces transparency and accountability thus undermining the value of counting ballots in accordance with the SADC Principles and Guidelines. Finally, the Report assesses the issue of discrepancies in the vote totals in some constituencies leading to charges of rigging by the MDC, some organizations and sections of the press.

4.6 Role of Traditional Authorities in Elections
Traditional authorities have been playing a more active role in the electoral process in rural areas in the past few years. The 2005 election process was no exception.. This Report shows that chiefs, kraal heads and headmen were active in the registration of members of communities living under them as well as ensuring their turnout on polling day. However, there were also allegations that some traditional leaders threatened their subjects with eviction if they failed to vote for the ruling party. Their role was not non-partisan. Some of them had their homesteads designated as polling stations. Traditional authorities should not play the overtly political and partisan role that some of them played in this election.

5.1 Access to the Media and State Resources
In previous elections, the observation has often been that access to the public media by contesting parties was inequitable. This largely remained the case during the 2005 election campaign. The state-controlled public media, both print and electronic, were clearly and consistently biased against opposition parties. Some privately owned media were also manifestly biased against the ruling party. However, the private media is a shadow of itself after the state-sanctioned closure of the mass independent daily, the Daily News, in 2003. The paper had provided an effective platform of alternative views in the 2000 and 2002 election campaigns.

This Report observes that even though political parties were belatedly allowed to advertise in the electronic media, this should have been extended to the print media. Although new broadcasting rules allowed access by contesting parties to radio and television, this was only a few weeks before the election date. Advertising on this media was also made very expensive. News bulletins and current affairs programmes during this period continued to demonstrate a distinct bias towards the ruling Zanu PF party. The post-election period should witness an opening up of the airwaves and the repeal of laws that create a monopoly for the state-controlled broadcaster. Finally, this Report provides examples of cases that show that access to state resources for use in campaigning remains inequitable and in favour of the incumbent party.

5.2 An Environment of Repressive Laws
Although the election campaign was a generally peaceful one, the environment in which it was conducted was one in which repressive laws were extensively used. Such laws include the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) (Chapter 11:17), the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) (Chapter 10:27) and the Miscellaneous Offences Act (1964) render the electoral environment hostile largely to the opposition parties. These laws are at variance with the SADC Principles and Guidelines that stress that member states should take measures that ensure that all citizens enjoy freedom of movement, association and expression. That the elections were conducted in a peaceful atmosphere was not because of but in spite of this repressive legislation. The legislation should be reviewed and repealed.

5.3 Women Candidates and the Election
This Report observes that the participation of women, as candidates, in an election is an important part and barometer of a democratic process. Although the elevation of Joyce Mujuru to the post of Vice-President served as a role model to aspiring women politicians, the 2005 election campaign was not distinguished by a prominent role for women candidates. However, it was significant that Zanu PF reached a decision to raise the proportion of its women election candidates to 30 per cent reminiscent of the SADC target for women by 2005. In the MDC, preference was given to sitting women members of parliament. Although 58 women candidates from different parties contested in the election, 20 won well below the minimum SADC target of 30 per cent. A great more therefore needs to be done to raise the representation of women to meet this target.

5.4 Integration of Election Management Bodies
There remains more than one election management body in the country despite the establishment of ZEC. There was bound to be an overlap in functions and authority between ZEC, ESC, Registrar-General of Voters and the Delimitation Commission. The existence of this multiplicity of electoral bodies is contrary to the SADC Principles and Guidelines. The case for the integration of these bodies into one that is impartial, independent, all inclusive, competent and accountable remains as strong as ever. The present ZEC should serve as a nucleus of such a body. The post-election period should provide opportunities for reflection and planning for this eventuality.

5. 5 Dialogue and Political Culture
This Report concludes by observing that the adversarial nature of Zimbabwean party politics should be superseded by inter-party dialogue. The election campaign demonstrated that it is possible to build and sustain an atmosphere and conditions of tolerance and peace. This experience should not be frittered now that the election is over. The experience provides an opportunity for sustained dialogue between on a range of issues. These include constitutional reform, the possible introduction of a Senate, the repeal of draconian legislation and a transformation from an authoritarian political culture that is at variance with the broad trend of democratization in the SADC region. This Executive Summary has not been exhaustive. The Report goes into detail about other aspects such as party primaries, party manifestos, the role and findings of international observers as well as on post-election developments. It concludes with a set of recommendations for consideration and action by the stakeholders.

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