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Regulation of political parties in Zimbabwe
Eldred Masunungure
September 17, 2006

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/viewinfo.cfm?linkid=21&id=4782&siteid=1

THE now defunct Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) in its valedictory report on the Senatorial elections and the Gutu House of Assembly by-election of November 2005 noted that the absence of laws for the registration of political parties had led to the emergence of "fly-by-night" political parties. It then recommended that to curb this tendency, political parties should be formally registered.

Many countries have regulations governing political parties at some stage of the political game. These include mature democracies in North America like Canada and the United States, many European countries including Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Austria, Spain and African countries like South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. There are numerous aspects of party activity that can be regulated but in almost all cases, it is the financing of political parties that is the most prominent and also the most contested and controversial.

There is no law in Zimbabwe that compels political parties to register in order to legally exist. The only time registration is obligatory is during elections when a party wants to contest by fielding a candidate(s).

The ESC report claims that the absence of laws for the registration of political parties had led to the emergence of "nondescript small parties with little content and no standing, let alone sustainability".

In addition, the ESC asserts that registration of political parties will supposedly defend national security interests as the state could use the information so availed through registration to carry out investigations to ascertain the party’s intentions and to weed out potential saboteurs.

There is no consensus on this proposal with opinion deeply polarised along partisan lines. Ruling party sympathisers feel this regulation will stop the emergence and existence of "brief case" political parties whose only purpose is to confuse the masses.

The two MDC factions counter-argue that the ESC recommendations are not only unconstitutional but fail to take into account that political parties are voluntary organisations and that legal requirements will undermine the volunteer character of parties, and lead to their privatisation and bureaucratisation. The essence of electoral democracy, they contend, is that political parties involve individuals and organisations that are independent of undue control by the state and hence should be left alone to determine their internal affairs.

By law, any political party that garners at least 5% of the vote in the previous election is eligible to receive public fees, and to date only two political parties (the ruling Zanu PF and the main opposition MDC) have enjoyed the privilege.

Most political parties in the country, great or small, still depend on the financial and other resources of generous individuals, businesses and private organisations. Political parties are not required by law to disclose their source of donations from within the country nor does it set ceilings for such contributions, let alone account for public funds that would have been given to them.

A strictly impartial and inclusive body comprising of public-spirited citizens who have no partisan affiliations must do the registration of parties. Though free political participation is guaranteed in the Zimbabwe Constitution, no political party may participate in an election unless it is registered as a political party.

Public funding should be provided for registered parties based on a consensually arrived at formula and only for electoral purposes. The formula must be such that it discourages the sprouting of ‘one person’, ‘brief-case’ and phantom parties.

Legislation must require the disclosure of the names of donors to registered parties and candidates if the donation is more than a stipulated amount. No contributor should donate through a third party.

In conclusion, political parties, like biological organisms, need to be nurtured in order for them to grow and develop into healthy and functional entities. For this, a conducive operating and institutional environment is a minimum condition.

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