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Report
on ZESN regional stakeholders round table on elections in southern
Africa
Amanda Atwood, Kubatana.net
March 19, 2007
View audio file details
Dozens of representatives
from civil society, governments, election management bodies and
universities from across the region gathered at a roundtable on
elections organised by the Zimbabwe
Election Support Network, ZESN, on 15-16 March 2007. Speakers
and presenters alike set the context of the discussion, regularly
referring back to Sunday
11 March, 2007 when opposition leaders were arrested and beaten
for organising a rally in Highfields, Harare.
While it would
be impossible to capture the ins and outs of every presentation
and discussion, below are some highlights captured from the two-day
event.
The opening
remarks by academic and civil society actor Walter Kamba set the
stage for the conference. Kamba is a former Vice Chancellor of the
University
of Zimbabwe and was Chairman of Zimbabwe's Electoral Supervisory
Commission from 1984-1994.
Leaders must
exercise power to benefit the people, Kamba said. And as many after
him stressed, Kamba emphasised the importance of democracy as the
best way to ensure that citizens can run their own lives and the
country is governed fairly. listen
to audio file
Quoting former
Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, he cited the centrality of good
governance and democracy in promoting development and ending poverty.
listen
to audio file
Similarly, in
his vote of thanks, Noel Kututwa, Executive Director of the Human
Rights Trust of Southern Africa (SAHRIT), quoted NEPAD saying
that sustainable development is impossible in the absence of democracy,
good governance, peace and human rights. listen
to audio file
Many speakers
emphasised that democracy is not an event, it is a process, and
a country's entire political and economic environment play
a role. Electoral systems, legal systems, and the environment and
conditions across the board must be fair, legitimate, transparent
and representative. In the words of SADC Parliamentary Forum Senior
Programmes Officer Takawira Musavengana, there can be no meaningful
elections with an uneven playing field. listen
to audio file
Electoral conditions
include—but are not limited to—the political environment
in which elections are held, the constitution, electoral and legal
systems, the demarcation of constituencies, voter registration and
the quality of the voters role, access to media and having a balanced
media environment, funding, voter administration and voter turn
out.
Debate also
touched on the question of "favour-based campaigning,"
or campaigning by giving voters material goods such as beer and
food, paying school fees, or promising or starting development projects
solely in exchange for the promise of a vote. Many presenters and
audience members alike expressed their concern with this practise,
describing it as buying votes, leaving elections open to corruption
and bribery, and also as giving wealthier candidates—or those
belonging to richer or more established political parties an unfair
disadvantage.
However, in
his presentation, Mike Mataure, director of the Public Affairs and
Parliamentary Support Trust (and former Zanu PF MP and Speaker of
the House) suggested that, particularly when dealing with voters
living in poverty, that is actually the only way to campaign. To
arrive in a poor village and simply ask residents to vote for you—without
providing them any sort of material support—was unrealistic
and unfair to the voters, he argued. listen
to audio file
Mataure also
shared the ways in which the quality of the election campaign reflects
that of electoral environment. For example, in Malawi, political
opponents share common platforms, exchange ideas and discuss positions
with one another in public. But in Zimbabwe, politicians do damage
to the electoral process with inappropriate language and behaviour.
Things like calling the opponent a liar, thief, or puppet, as well
of course as beating supporters, defacing campaign material, and
attacking candidates all damage not only people involved but the
democratic process and therefore people as a whole. listen
to audio file
Speakers from
Zimbabwe and across the region discussed the challenges many political
actors have faced when liberation heroes or other politicians are
so idolized that people will not see the truth about them.
Presentations
from Zambia, Malawi and Kenya reminded the audience that other countries
in the region have been in similar situations to Zimbabwe, and through
carefully planned and well strategised plans, coordinated action
across civil society helped these countries to rewrite their constitutions
and bring government more in line with what the people wanted, despite
the unpopularity of these suggestions with these countries'
ruling parties.
However, these
presentations informed audience members that, even after constitutional
reform or a new leadership in government, civil society organisations
and the citizenry alike still faced challenges in holding the new
government accountable and instituting real change. These discussions
from countries which have been independent longer than Zimbabwe
stressed how lengthy the process of genuine democratisation is,
and warned against both impatience and despair.
As Kenyan Koki
Muli, executive director of the Institute for Education in Democracy
put it, change is as inevitable in Zimbabwe as it was in Kenya.
However, when pro-democracy activists were fed up with their government,
she said, they had no plan beyond getting rid of Moi. Muli warned
Zimbabweans not to make a similar mistake of short sightedness.
listen
to audio file
She also reminded
the audience that, in order to have any change, activists and organisations
must reach out to people and develop their constituencies and membership.
listen
to audio file
The marginalisation
of women in all aspects of the election process was raised by a
range of presenters who spoke specifically from a "gender
perspective," but there was no specific presentation on elections
from a youth perspective. Thus, while some speakers did refer to
the ways in which youth are manipulated during elections, ferried
by political parties to be thug gangs or rent-a-crowds, there was
no presentation dedicated to discussing alternative ways in which
young people could be engaged in elections, encouraged to register
to vote, or educated and supported in finding ways to play their
part as active, engaged citizens in a positive and productive way.
Common points
featured in many presentations included:
- The mere
existence of elections does not necessarily mean democracy or
good governance. Elections are a component of democracy, but not
the only one.
- The need
for the election management body to be fearlessly independent,
honest, transparent and reliable.
- Zimbabwe
and other countries in the region have made a range of pledges
such as the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic
Elections in Africa and the SADC
Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections,
but they have not incorporated these ideals into local level national
practise.
- The need
for a longer time scale for monitoring and assessment of electoral
conditions, rather than simply a few days before elections.
Despite being
featured on the programme, the Ministry of Justice did not send
a speaker. At the last minute, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
pulled out because they said they could not make any presentation
on electoral reform as it was 'purely political" issue
and not within their Constitutional mandate to discuss. Jonathan
Moyo said that "given the current political tensions,"
he thought it would be inappropriate for him to be there.
ZESN requested
copies of each paper that was presented, and have posted many of
them online. Visit the Kubatanablog
about the meeting for links to many of these papers and the conference
recommendations.
Visit the Kubatana.net
fact
sheet
Audio File
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
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