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ZESN Ballot Update - July-August 2011
Zimbabwe
Election Support Network
September 09, 2011
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Introduction
The period July
- August 2011 witnessed a number of key political developments.
The death of Retired General Solomon Mujuru rocked the country and
sent shock waves across the Zimbabwean community. The SADC Luanda
summit also took place against the backdrop of allegations that
the facilitation team is peddling regime change agendas and the
question on the continuation of President Zuma as the negotiator
to Zimbabwe. Heroes' day commemorations were an important
event during this period.
The Zimbabwe
Election Support Network remains dedicated to the promotion of democratic
elections in Zimbabwe. In line with this objective, we continue
to analyse the political environment in the 210 constituencies where
long term observers are deployed. This update is informed by observations
from these constituencies and broadly captures national political
developments in Zimbabwe.
| Issue |
Comment |
| Electoral
reforms |
The Electoral
Amendment Bill which was gazetted on the 27th of June is
still under scrutiny and public hearings on the bill are scheduled
to begin on the 12th of September 2011. ZESN encourages citizens
to engage with the bill and to make recommendations for the
improvement of the law in Zimbabwe. While this piece of legislation
is important for electoral processes in Zimbabwe, it is important
that structural problems inherent in the political makeup of
Zimbabwe such as intolerance and violence be addressed as a
matter of urgency. |
The
Human Rights
Commission Bill
|
The
Human
Rights Commission Bill was gazetted on the 10th of June
2011 awaits the report from the Parliamentary Legal Committee.
The public hearings on this bill were disrupted
by ZANU PF activists. The major weakness that ZESN has gleaned
in this bill is its inability to prevent further recurrence
of violence in Zimbabwe. Indirectly, the bill protects perpetrators
of violence by virtue of the temporal jurisdiction limitations.
It only allows the commission to investigate human rights violations
that took place after February 2009.This is one of the main
controversial aspects about the bill. Disruptions were captured
on CCTV but to date, those responsible have not been arrested,
a clear demonstration of impunity in the country. |
| The
GNU |
ZESN continues
to note with concern the fragility and problems that bedevil
the GNU.
The Government of National Unity was a model used to address
the crisis that had gripped the country, however while there
is a semblance of sanity in the country, tension remains. While
the GNU was envisaged as the bedrock from which institutional
reforms would begin, the politics of continuity prevail with
resistance to reforms in the critical sectors of the country.
The continued tensions were evidenced by the manner in which
the parties to the GNU handled the Libya saga. The expulsion
of the Libyan Ambassador from Zimbabwe exposed the ideological
differences between MDC and ZANU PF. These ideological differences
contribute to the widening of the cracks in the government.
The National Defence Forces Day also revealed the security sector's
reluctance to reform through their refusal to salute the Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The politics of continuity have
led to continued hate language and intolerance in the national
broadcaster, continued victimisation of MDC activists and officials
as well continued disrespect for human rights in Zimbabwe. There
seems to be impatience on the part of ZANU PF to end the GNU
which would be premature given that Zimbabwe is not ready for
elections and the constitution making process needs to be concluded
before any general election is conducted. The inclusive government
has failed to civilise the conflicts that led to its formation. |
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