Back to Index

This article participates on the following special index pages:

Statement on Zimbabwe elections by the Anglican Bishop of Natal Right Rev Rubin Phillip
Bishop Rubin Phillip
April 05, 2005

I have had occasion to visit Zimbabwe on two separate occasions over the past five weeks. The first was to Harare in the pre-election period (from 28 February to 2 March) where I had the opportunity to meet with various representatives of church and civil society formations in Zimbabwe to discuss the electoral environment and to ascertain the conditions on the ground for credible elections to take place on 31 March 2005. The second was over the election period (from 25 March to 2 April) when I visited Bulawayo and travelled around Matabeleland observing the immediate build-up to the elections, the poll and the immediate post-election situation.

These visits confirmed that the electoral process in Zimbabwe was conducted in a climate of fear and intimidation and against the backdrop of escalating poverty and food shortages which was largely politically induced. The extent of the fear and intimidation was palpable, and is reflected in a conversation I held with a priest who said that he was too fearful of reprisals to attend a Good Friday service (which incorporated a march in support of those suffering and oppressed). The freedom of the electoral process in the pre-election period was also severely compromised by restrictive and oppressive legislation such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) which did not allow for equal access to state media and restricted and disrupted campaigning for the elections by the opposition MDC up until two weeks before the elections. It was also evident from my first visit, that despite complying with some of the SADC Standards and Guidelines for Elections agreed in Mauritius, that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) lacked independence and that serious discrepancies existed around the registration process, the voters roll and the process of determining constituency boundaries – all of which were handled in a secretive and underhanded manner by agents of the ruling party.

This electoral environment was further undermined by reports of the manipulation of the distribution of food aid by the ruling party, and I met an 83 year old widow who confirmed this fact. She cares for five orphans and told me that because she supports the MDC, her name was on a list of those who are not allowed to buy food from the Grain Marketing Board and that she has been told by her local headman that unless she ‘converts’ to ZANU-PF she and her children will starve to death. Reports of many other intimidation tactics were also reported to me and have been well documented by human rights organisations in Zimbabwe. These include threats of forced removal from areas if people attended MDC rallies, threats against election observers and polling agents and in some instances threats of retribution if people voted for the MDC.

Despite peace and dignity prevailing in the period immediately prior to, and during the poll, (which is to be commended and recognised), serious discrepancies emerged on the voting day with high numbers of would-be voters turned away from polling stations, and unacceptable discrepancies between the figures released by the ZEC and the official results from some constituencies. Various aspects of the electoral process were also not fully observed by domestic or international observers which left the system open to abuse.

For the above reasons I do not consider the electoral process in Zimbabwe to be either free or fair and therefore cannot believe that it expresses the will of the people of Zimbabwe.

*Bishop Rubin Phillip, (SACC Envoy To Zimbabwe, Head Of The Zimbabwe Observer Consortium And Spokesperson For The Zimbabwe Solidarity And Consultation Forum)

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP