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Elections and national healing; which one should come before the other
Mass Public Opinion Institute
February 24, 2011

Speakers:

1. Rev. Ancelimo Magaya, Zimbabwe Christian Alliance.

2. Hon. Moses Mzila Ndlovu: Co-Minister, Organ on National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration.

3. Hon. Sekai M. Holland, Co-Minister, Organ On National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration.

4. Cde Zvakanyorwa W. Sadomba, Lecturer in Sociology, University of Zimbabwe.

Moderator

Mr. Chales Mangongera

The seminar held under the topic, “Elections and National Healing; Which one Should Come Before the Other?” was held at the New Ambassador Hotel on the 24th of February 2011. Four invited presenters turned up to give their presentations. About 70 people attended the meeting.

All speakers started by recognizing the Organ on national healing as responsible for ensuring that national healing and reconciliation is possible. Nonetheless, the speakers emphasised the point that the Organ had no power to enforce national healing. The observation was clearly made by Hon Sekai M. Holland who said, as one of the people seating on the Organ, their mandate was unfortunately narrowly limited to an advisory role. The same was pointed out by Pastor Ancelimo Magaya who noted that the ‘Organ has no Act which empowers it to stamp out political violence’. According to Hon Sekai M. Holland, national healing is possible for free and fair elections if every Zimbabwean could understand the purpose of the institutions that were set up through GPA to attempt to ensure democracy. These institutions were mentioned as follows:

1) COPAC

2) Organ on National Healing

3) Work Plan in the Office of the Prime Minister

4) Modernisation Programme in the Office of the President

Addressing the questions of how to ensure national healing before elections, Pastor Ancelimo Magaya observed that ‘delayed elections will not necessarily translate into national healing’. For national healing to be a success, it is supposed to follow a clearly laid down road map with the principals to the GPA publicly denouncing violence, and with the help of SADC, AU, and UN peace monitors. He also expressed his displeasure with the public media’s continued churning out of partisan jingles noting that these do not support the spirit of national healing and reconciliation. He concluded his speech with the observation that ‘credible elections can be a tool for national healing’.

The speakers seemed to share same views that national healing should precede elections in order that for the elections to be considered legitimate and a reflection of the democratic will of the people. Hon Moses Mzila Ndlovu, for example, emphatically refused to consider it a chicken and- egg question. He argued that ‘if Zimbabwe has a people who are who have found justice elusive, then it has a people who are maginalised and that it has a problem’. For him national healing is ‘far more involving and has to be carried out in a careful manner’ because it the ‘first condition for elections’. Violence does not allow people to vote freely and is an infringement on their rights. Peace through national healing was considered a pre-requisite. While his views were shared by all the speakers, Comrade Sadomba presented a broader and slightly different view of the topic. Cde Sadomba argued that national healing cannot be adequately situated in the context of 2008 elections alone. He identified four major national wounds as pre-colonial, colonization, the process of liberation and post colonial. Post-colonial wounds included ethnic, partisan, power struggle and selfish political aims. His major diverging views were expressed in his observations that ‘national healing has not been shown to be a precondition of elections in the history of nations’. From the premise that ‘elections are an event and national healing protracted process that could take even a century to accomplish’, Comrade Sadomba rhetorically asked: ‘How can you real a colonial wound? How can you heal the wound of international healing?’ For the speaker, just like what happened in 1980, elections can be held when due while national healing continues ‘far beyond elections’.

The speakers submitted that elections held in an environment of political intolerance do not produce a legitimate result. All speakers lampooned continued violence as impeding efforts to heal the national, and called upon the office bearers dissociate themselves with followers who commit acts of violence.

After the presentations, the audience had time to ask questions. Except for Pastor Ancelimo Magaya the other three speakers had to justify their presentations. One lady in the audience wanted Cde Sadomba to explain what he meant by his comments that ‘elections were just an event-’ given that a lot of people died in the process. A self confessed Zanu-PF participant, Goodson Nguni commented that the MDC wanted to postpone elections so that they register Zimbabweans in South Africa first. Whilst he did not wait for a response, his comments infuriated Honourable Moses Mzilla who went at length explaining about people’s democratic rights to vote regardless of where they are during the time of voting. It was through the intervention of the coordinator after 2000 hours that brought the seminar to its conclusion.

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