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Repressive
Legal Framework Denies Free Choice
Joseph
James, President of the Law Society of Zimbabwe
Extracted
from International Bar Association, Zimbabwe Election Focus
March
25, 2005
"The
situation at the moment has not really changed compared to 2000
or 2002 in terms of fair and free elections being held"
Zimbabwe has
not complied with the requirements of the SADC protocol. The essence
of these is that there should be fairness to all the parties taking
part in the elections, and that people should be able to exercise
their democratic right to vote in an atmosphere which is free and
fair. On the surface it appears as if the Government of Zimbabwe
has complied, as legislation has been passed by Parliament and signed
into effect by the President. These laws however infringe upon the
basic human rights of the Zimbabwean people. Also the manner in
which the laws are applied gives rise to concern.
No right
to associate
The
most significant and most repressive piece of legislation is the
Public Order and Security Act (POSA) passed in 2002, which repealed
the notorious Law and Order (Maintenance) Act which had been passed
by the Smith regime, and kept on the statute books for 22 years
by our Government. It is significant that POSA became law just before
the Presidential elections in 2002. POSA effectively prevents freedom
of assembly and association. Section16 of POSA makes it an offence
to criticise the President, who is the leader of one of the two
main parties contesting the election, and should be subject to the
normal criticism during the elections.
Freedom of
information denied
The
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act prevents Zimbabweans
from freely receiving and imparting ideas and information: this
is reflected in the closure of four newspapers which are regarded
as anti-Government in the recent past. The Broadcasting Act effectively
keeps the air-waves in Zimbabwe under the control of the Government.
NGOs threatened
The
Non-Governmental Organisation Bill which only awaits the President's
signature to become law is a threat hanging over those nongovernmental
organisations who may wish to be involved in voter education.
Access to
State broadcaster restricted
The
Broadcasting Services (Access to radio and television during an
Election) Regulations 2005 appear to grant contesting political
parties equal time to the broadcasting of election matters; they
also prescribe how the parties may advertise on the airwaves. Unfortunately
the cost of the advertisements is high, and in practice exactly
how much access is given to a particular political party is dependent
upon the discretion of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, which
the Ministry of Information controls. Consequently, repressive pieces
of legislation such as POSA, AIPPA and the Broadcasting Act need
either to be repealed or amended drastically simply as a start to
ensure free and fair elections.
Voters' roll
'shambolic'
The
most significant change in this election has been the enactment
of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act, but unfortunately the
Registrar General's office continues to oversee the voters' roll,
which is crucial: the Registrar General's office has been criticised
for a shambolic roll containing dead and ghost voters. The army
continues to supply personnel to run the elections, and the leaders
of the armed forces made it very clear where their allegiance lies.
Rule of law
crisis continues
The
situation at the moment has not really changed compared to 2000
or 2002 in terms of fair and free elections being held: political
violence continues, and the Police continue to arrest both MDC and
Zanu-PF members who allegedly indulge in political violence. There
continues to be a selective application of the law. Foreign observers
need to see how the laws of this country are applied by the Executive
in order to appreciate the issues. This election will not end the
abuse of human rights and the rule of law crisis in Zimbabwe: this
can be seen in the disruption of the MDC meetings, the harassment
of journalists, and the recent amendment to AIPPA which basically
criminalises journalism.
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