Back to Index

This article participates on the following special index pages:

Interim report by CCJP on the 29 March 2008 harmonised elections in Zimbabwe
Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJP)
March 31, 2008

Introduction
Since independence in 1980, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference (ZCBC) through the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ) has observed local, parliamentary and presidential elections in Zimbabwe. This is part of the Church's contribution to the search for genuine and sustainable peace that is anchored in justice. It is in this spirit that the ZCBC applied and was granted permission by the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to observe the 29 March 2008 elections to elect the President, members of the House of Assembly, Senators and local councillors. In carrying out its work, CCJP under ZCBC was guided by the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing the Holding Democratic Elections. As a signatory, Zimbabwe should adhere to the following principles in the conduct of democratic elections:

• Full participation of the citizens in the political process;
• Freedom of association;
• Regular intervals for elections as provided by the respective National Constitutions;
• Equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media;
• Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for;
• Independence of the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral institutions; and
• Voter education.

CCJP has issued two pre-election press statements in which it highlighted some deficiencies in the electoral preparations. This Interim Report is a follow up to those statements and covers the period up to initial announcement of results.

Immediate pre-election period
CCJP under ZCBC was accredited on 4 March 2008 and was therefore able to observe the immediate pre-election period, the polling itself and the period immediately thereafter including announcement of first results.

We observed that despite significant improvements in the fortnight preceding elections in access to the public media by political parties and candidates, the ruling party continued to enjoy much more and better coverage than other parties. This was especially the case with the public print media where up to polling day (29 March) ZANU-PF continued to get more and positive coverage whereas the opposition parties and candidates were subjected to negative coverage. There were also reports by one of the presidential candidates that the state print media refused to flight its advertisements for unexplained reasons. This vitiates the principle of equal opportunity to access to the state media.

It was also disquieting to note that on the eve of voting day (28 March) all the security forces chiefs addressed a joint press conference at which they threatened to crush post-election protests by the opposition. In the context of and combined with a heavy display of force by the military on 27 March 2008 in Harare streets and previous statements by some service chiefs that they would not recognise "puppets" and "agents" of the West if they were elected to the presidency, this had the effect of intimidating potential voters to vote in a particular way or to discourage them from voting.

Irregularities on the electoral roll were also discovered on the eve of polling with as many suspicious names in some constituencies. For instance, about 8 000 residents were on the roll for one Harare ward that turned out to be a large, empty field. This raises serious concerns about the credibility of the voters register. The state of the voters roll is a perennial problem that however seems to be a low priority area on the part of Government. A related and equally persistent problem is the failure by the election authorities to comply with the law in respect of providing contesting opposition parties and candidates a electronic copy of the electoral register.

CCJP regrets the selective invitations to foreign observers. Invitations were restricted to what Government regarded as "friendly" countries and organisations. Some European countries were not invited to observe the elections except for the countries represented in Zimbabwe whose staffs were accredited to observe the polls. This was also the case with the so called "unfriendly" journalists and media houses from but this ban also extended to even some 'undesirable' media from SADC, e.g. e-TV from South Africa. This discrimination is very damaging for a country that wants to project a good image of itself in the international community as it gives the impression that the Government has something to hide.

Reports from our observers indicate ballot boxes (transparent and not wooden) were despatched in time at all polling stations. Other polling materials were in place by the time of voting.

Polling day
It is gratifying that at all but a few polling stations, polling began at the stipulated time of 0700 am. However, at a few polling stations, voting was delayed.

Our observers noted that voting proceeded smoothly in most rural areas where by mid-day, most voters had cast their votes. However, in the urban areas (especially in Harare and Bulawayo) there were not enough polling stations resulting in long queues with impatient voters complaining that the process was taking too long. In both major cities, impatient voters could have left before casting their vote, hence getting disenfranchised while the clock could have disenfranchised others.

The CCJP is again disturbed that thousands of potential voters were not able to exercise their right to vote as they were turned away for a variety of reasons, the main ones being not in possession of the right identity documentation and/or being in the wrong ward. Other eligible voters were turned away because they were of foreign parentage and were asked to produce certificates of citizen renunciation even when this is not a legal requirement.

The above observation is directly related to the inadequate voter education conducted by ZEC. This is a demonstration of its limited capacity to do an effective and continuous voter and civic education campaign and emphasises the need for ZEC to share this vital function with other civic organisations.

Overall, voting in the 29 March 2008 elections proceeded very peacefully though there was an unconfirmed report of shooting in one of the constituencies in Mashonaland Central and bombing of a house in Bulawayo Province.

Counting, tabulation and announcement of results
CCJP observers noted with satisfaction that all polling stations observed the SADC guideline to count the ballot cast at the polling station. Almost all stations posted their results at the polling station for any interested stakeholders to check. This was one of the most transparent procedures to be adopted in this four-tier election and this is highly commendable. There were however a few polling stations that are said not to have complied with this for reasons that are not yet clear especially in Mashonaland West.

The most disturbing development since the end of voting has been the delay in announcing the results. Most people expected the results to be announced at the National Command Centre the day following voting but not a single result was announced on 30 March 2008. It was not until mid-night that ZEC announced that results would be announced beginning 6:00 am on 31 March 2008. However, when the announcement of results started, the pace was excruciatingly slow. Forty five hours after polling closed, only 38 House of Assembly results out of 209 had been announced and none of the other three elections, especially the Senate and Presidential.

Both the delay and the slow pace in announcing the results gave rise to speculation and apprehensions that raised tempers and tensions and hence the potential for violence. In future, this is a matter that demands to be rectified as it can result in needless violence and deaths.

Conclusion
It is CCJP's observation that the 29 March 2008 four-tier elections were complex and ZEC made an effort to conduct the elections as efficiently as it could with the limited resources at its possession. However, there were serious doubts expressed about its impartiality and its ability to discharge its constitutional mandate to conduct free and fair elections whose results all contestants can accept. It still has a long way to go in dispelling perceptions that it is biased towards the incumbent president and his party and therefore that it lacks the required autonomy to be an effective and objective referee and manager of national elections.

Visit the CCJPZ fact sheet

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