Skewed Electoral Processes

February 2008.

SKEWED ELECTORAL PROCESSES

After the Gold Coast gained independence to become Ghana in 1957, colonial domination in Africa started to crumble with the 1960s heralding a substantial number of colonies achieving independence. As student nationalist activists, we cheered heartily when we heard Kwame Nkrumah tell us that Africa could not be free when one African was still under bondage. Today, Africa is still under bondage, but not from the imperialist and colonialist Europe, but rather at the hands of other Africans.

Liberation from colonial oppression was supposed to bring with it democracy. Unfortunately, the one-party democracies that emerged during the 1960s did not lay an environment for multiparty democratic processes.

This was derived from the former Soviet Union and China which played a pivotal role in the decolonisation of Africa. Most of the emerging African leaders were either guests or schooled in the Communist East, i. e. Eastern Europe and China. After being given a tour of the communist establishments, the leaders were quick to emulate their hosts. Ghana's independence constitution was a one-party document. Robert Mugabe's ZANU (PF) tried to establish a one-party state but was thwarted by PF-ZAPU and elements within its own ranks. However, the ZANU (PF) dominated Parliament managed to change the Lancaster House Constitution to suit its one-party system ambitions and ended up establishing a de facto one-party democracy.

For all the noise about democracy and sovereignty, the majority of African governments still fall far short of the bar. Democracy is a concept to which they pay only lip-service. There is just too much intolerance; no one wants to compromise even if the outcome means mutual self-destruction.

Watching Kenya's disputed presidential election of December 2007, one could fairly conclude that the member states of the African Union need to introduce legal guidelines that can be enforced to avoid further destruction of innocent lives. Many observers witnessed the trigger for ethnic violence in the Rift Valley and other parts of Kenya that made them remain sanguine about the prospects of any contest vote on the continent.

Violence erupted in Kenya because the public saw the electoral process as flawed. They saw the country's electoral commission as beholden to the incumbent. They saw the forces of law and order as suborned and appeals to the judiciary as pointless. It is necessary for Zimbabwe to learn lessons from Kenya.

Since the emergence of the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe in 1999 and its powerful showing in the June 2000 parliamentary election and the 2002 presidential election, many have bemoaned the perils of elections in Zimbabwe, and highlighted the apparent lack of benefits of holding them. The election disputes degenerated into court battles where a score of ZANU (PF) victories were annulled but the ruling party chose to ignore the rulings and appealed to the Supreme Court. The challenges were never heard by the august judicial body. The 2002 presidential outcome was also challenged in the High Court. But in spite of prevarications by Mugabe's defence and the High Court itself, the exercise was beneficial in that it exposed how the Zimbabwean Executive has managed to undermine the independence of the High Court and the Judiciary at large.

The harmonised presidential, parliamentary and local government elections planned for March 29, 2008 are likely to produce another contested result which will provide a flimsy pretext for the repressive and irrational Robert Mugabe to bully and abuse his many opponents.

While Mugabe has rightly proclaimed inflation which is at 100,580% and seen by observers at more that 150,000%, as enemy number one, all democratic Zimbabweans and other African compatriots ought to proclaim the end of Mugabe's reign of terror as the number one goal of diplomacy in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, has failed to ensure free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" is a lame duck and the long period of deference to his strategy should come to a crashing end. It is fair to see Mbeki's legacy on peace-making in Zimbabwe as a disaster and any harsh words by stakeholders about his overt protection of Mugabe are justified.

His engagement with Zimbabwe is littered with statements which were later denied or found to be untrue. Like telling George W. Bush on the lawns of the Union Buildings that the warring parties in Zimbabwe were negotiating and that a solution was around the corner, only for the statement to be denied by both parties before the day was out way back in July 2003. In January 2008, he told the visiting Republic of Ireland Prime Minister ZANU (PF) and the MDC were about to sign an agreement that would facilitate free and fair elections in March 2008.

At his State of the Nation Address before Parliament in Cape Town on February 8, 2008, Mbeki "congratulated the parties to the Zimbabwe dialogue for their truly commendable achievements and encouraged them to work together to resolve the remaining procedural matter". How can Mbeki be so gullible? Mugabe has not shown any remorse or compunction for the destruction he has visited on Zimbabwe. In fact he has treated Mbeki's so-called mediation effort with utter disdain, unilaterally naming an election date, and rejecting opposition demands for a new constitution before elections are held.

In a statement, both MDC formations' secretary-generals, Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube, said the talks reached a deadlock after ZANU (PF) reneged on the issues of the date of the elections, the timeframe for the implementation of the agreed reforms, and the manner of making and enactment of a new constitution. The formations said contrary to Mbeki's suggestion that these were peripheral matters of procedures outstanding in the dialogue, there were in fact issues of "substance that went into the heart of the matter".

They said the unilateral proclamation of the election date on January 25 by President Robert Mugabe amounted to a ZANU (PF) repudiation of the SADC dialogue which "sadly and regrettably failed to achieve its intended purpose".

"As far as the date of the election was concerned, it was always the firm view of the MDC that this date would be determined only at the time that agreement on every substantive aspect of the agreement had been reached," the MDC formations said.

"The MDC's participation [in the March 29 elections] is not different from its participation under protest and ‘with a heavy heart' as in previous elections. In the circumstances, we hold the firm view that the 2008 elections which are being held under the same conditions as previous disputed elections cannot by any stretch of the imagination yield a legitimate outcome," the MDC said.

The MDC formations said outstanding matters included transitional issues, which would have gone into the draft constitution as the sixth schedule covering voter registration, delimitation of constituencies, the reconstitution of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the Diaspora vote.

The issues also included the role of SADC in monitoring and enforcing the agreements, and the period and manner of implementation of the legislative and political agreement. On the question of a new constitution, the parties had agreed on June 18, 2007 that they would negotiate a holistic supreme law which was to be debated in Parliament before a final draft which would be adopted and enacted before the next election.

The MDC formations said the failure of the dialogue is a catastrophe for both the people of Zimbabwe and the SADC region.

There is enough evidence that Mugabe and his cronies have relied on violence to win elections even during the 1979 elections that resulted into an independent Zimbabwe in 1980. In addition to violence, the independence government then introduced ballot rigging during the subsequent parliamentary elections in 1985, 1990, 1995 and the 1996 presidential election. First to reveal this ballot rigging was Margaret Dongo who stood as an independent in the Harare South constituency in 1995 after being expelled from ZANU (PF) for disputing the primaries.

Although at first Dongo lost to a ZANU (PF) candidate, the result was declared null and void in an unprecedented ruling in the High Court in August 1995. Although just 18% of voters in the constituency bothered to go to the polls, Margaret Dongo defeated her liberation-war comrade Vivian Mwashita by 3,075 votes to 1,613 in a subsequent by-election.

This by-election evidently demonstrated that the ZANU (PF) giant could be challenged and defeated by those who were brave enough to do so. It also exposed the electoral process as a farce that would remain so for as long as it was based on faulty voters' rolls, which clearly extended far beyond the Harare South constituency. This also made ZANU (PF) realise that obeying High Court rulings on electoral fraud would result in the party loosing by-elections. They then exploited a loophole in the judicial system where they are determined to appeal to the Supreme Court which leaves appeals in limbo as in the case of the 15 seats disputed by the MDC in 2000.

Mugabe and his cronies are still in control of key government institutions and machinery that they have employed in the past to win elections. The Registrar-General, Tobaiwa Mudede is still in control of the discredited voters' roll; the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is still controlled by a former military officer despite the 18th Constitutional Amendment prohibiting the military and the police from engaging in electoral processes.

The ruling ZANU (PF) has for long been accused of using and abusing the state security agents such as the Zimbabwe National Army, the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Central Intelligence Organisation in torturing and intimidating opposition supporters and any perceived enemies during elections. Zimbabwe has a police force that has been schooled to associate opposition politics with criminality and to treat the ruling party with reverence.

In addition, the media is still dishing out anti-opposition-parties propaganda. This is what the two main presidential aspirants - Morgan Tsvangirai and Simba Makoni - are up against and not each other.

Mugabe's government agreed to change some of the security and press laws during talks with the main opposition MDC that were brokered by South African President Thabo Mbeki. But human rights groups say the amendments were piecemeal and inadequate. Mugabe and his ruling ZANU (PF) party still enjoy monopoly on coverage by state-run newspapers, radio and television. Nine leaders of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) were hospitalised on 19 February after they were severely assaulted and tortured by militant supporters of Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU (PF) party.

Instead of arresting the ZANU (PF) militants, the police turned on Raymond Majongwe and his colleagues whom they were charging with violating a tough government law prohibiting publishing or distribution of information considered subversive to the interests of the state. The confidence of Zimbabweans in the police to uphold the law has been irrevocably eroded.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum released a report that said next month's polls were "already tainted" because of serious human rights violations recorded over the past 12 months. The authorities in Zimbabwe have banned several opposition rallies and assaulted and arrested students and activists during separate peaceful protests since the amendment of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) in December 2007 as a result of mediation initiated by the SADC between ZANU (PF) and the MDC. Thabo Mbeki has so far failed to get Robert Mugabe to implement the changes he agreed to.

The rural population is, perhaps, the most abused political constituency in Zimbabwe - remembered only during the time of elections. All too often, it is taken for granted that the rural communities are Robert Mugabe's natural constituency because of the food donations they get during droughts and during elections. Never mind that the donated supplements may have come from international donors unrelated to Mugabe.

That the food donations came from Mugabe's charity became lodged in the subconscious and embedded in the everyday language of the rural communities across the country. It is hardly surprising that the control over the provision or withdrawal of food is a very important source of power to the Mugabe regime. The same tactics used against opponents in the 1980s are still used against perceived opponents. This ability to provide or refuse access to food in times of need has been a key source of power and control over rural voters.

This ZANU (PF) controlled food handouts also obfuscates the fact that the food is bought by tax payers that include the rural people's sons and daughters. Yet not everyone is that lucky. There are a few zvimbwasungata - a harsh description of those that do not agree with the party, who find themselves marginalised from the food handouts.

The controls over food aid have to be seen within the context to ensure that ZANU (PF) remains the only source of welfare and to prevent any other party from drawing power from this key source. Allowing alternative sources to provide food aid would be tantamount to permitting the neutralisation of the long-sown idea that only Mugabe and ZANU (PF) are the caring benefactors. ZANU (PF) cannot possibly permit an alternative welfare claim.

The second and related source of power in the rural communities is the fear of ostracization and violence. Not only does it mean that a mutengesi (sellout) is denied welfare, it also means that security can be withdrawn from his family. The phenomenon of violence in rural areas has a long history, dating back to the liberation war period. While the most favoured liberation war history tends to paint a brighter picture of heroism, there is also another, less popular but sinister side that left a bitter taste in the rural communities on whose turf the war was mainly fought.

Much of this sordid violence took place in rural hinterlands. Stories are told of alleged vatengesi who were either maimed or killed mostly after being found guilty by kangaroo courts. Punishment was often carried out in full view of the public. Many who witnessed the reality of violence still constitute a large portion of the rural voters. These historical circumstances cannot be dismissed out of hand, especially when the liberation party in power still uses the language of "pasi nevatengesi" (which literally means "death to the sell-outs").

It is not surprising, therefore, that in the language of ZANU (PF), Simba Makoni has now joined the ranks of Morgan Tsvangirai and MDC supporters as a "mutengesi". This is a language that is designed to bring back bitter memories and instil fear in the rural communities. ZANU (PF) hopes to cash in on the seed of fear sown many years ago. It is likely to increase the tempo, characterising Makoni and Tsvangirai as sell-outs and tools of the imperialists.

ZANU (PF) creates practical barriers to opponents in rural areas. The party knows that rural voters are not gullible and that if they have information from other sources, they would make more informed choices. The deprivation of space for campaigns and information dissemination is part of an elaborate scheme, which includes the monopolisation of the media, so that rural communities are only ever exposed to the government-controlled radio and the party's foot-soldiers.

Furthermore, the credibility of the electoral process is compromised when the Harare authorities declare that only "friendly" nations and media will be invited to observe the elections. The question that immediately springs to an observer's mind is friendly to whom? With the government trying to prevent the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) from carrying out voter education, it becomes obvious that the ZANU (PF) regime has something to hide. It was reported that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in mid-February barred ZESN from conducting voter education on the pretext that the NGO did not have a licence.

ZEC wrote to the ZESN: "We note with concern that the Zimbabwe Election Support Network has been conducting voter education through the medium of the print and electronic media although the voter education material was never sanctioned by the commission.

"Be advised that the current advertisements being flighted by yourselves are in contravention of the law and you are therefore requested to stop any further publications forthwith until authority to publish or broadcast the same is obtained from the Commission."

The Commission said in terms of Section 15 (1) of the ZEC Act (Chapter 2:12), no other person other than the Commission, or a person appointed in terms of Section 14 (3), or a political party should provide voter education unless such person conducts voter education in accordance with a course or programme of instruction furnished or approved by the Commission.

Seen from another angle, the voters' roll inspection and registration exercise exposed the government's shortcomings in the compilation of the rolls, among other critical factors likely to affect the harmonised elections on March 29. Opposition parties have been on record ever since the 1985 elections that the voters' roll is a shambles. Candidates and prospective voters have complained of attempts by Registrar-General officials to deny them their right to inspect the rolls and register to vote. In certain instances, aspiring parliamentary and council candidates were forced to seek court orders to inspect the voters' roll.

Another wide-spread voter's roll scam is the exclusion of names from the voters' register. A ZANU (PF) official coordinating the nomination of an aspiring councillor in Harare's Ward 17 at Beit Hall in Mabelreign was reported to have said that he could not find names of 10 nominators backing him. This is despite the fact that the nominators had registered and voted in previous elections in the area. This goes to prove that the concern about the voters' roll is not just confined to the opposition.

Meanwhile, the MDC parliamentary candidate for Bulawayo South, Eddie Cross, who was initially barred from filing his nomination papers by ZEC, finally managed to do so after he won an urgent High Court interdict against the electoral body. ZEC had barred Cross from filing his papers arguing that the Bulawayo-based opposition official was not a Zimbabwean citizen as his parents were of British descent, a charge he disputed. He was born in Bulawayo, grew up in the country all his life and has never held any other citizenship and travelled most of his life on a Zimbabwe passport.

How ironic those authorities find it easy to point a finger at opposition candidates when the other three fingers are pointing right into their faces as having originated from Malawi, Zambia, Matabili and from all over the place.

The government enacted a law that virtually stripped Zimbabweans of foreign descent their nationality unless they renounced their claim to any foreign citizenship. That was meant to deny many of their right to vote in general elections in 2000 and the 2002 presidential election because ZANU (PF) feared they were going to vote for the opposition MDC. Some Zimbabweans have successfully challenged the law saying they cannot be forced to renounce citizenships they have never had.

Analysts have raised fears that because of the complicated electoral process, the March 29 election will result in the highest number of spoilt ballot papers since 1980. Voters in most urban areas will be required to vote for several candidates at a go - a presidential candidate, candidates for Parliament and Senate and those for local authorities.

The whole point about democratic processes is that a government serves the interests of all the people irrespective of their political allegiance. The primary focus should be on compliance with the electoral law as the law is designed to protect the interests of citizens and parties other than ZANU (PF).

It would be wrong to decide for the people what to believe or not to believe. All the facts are there on the ground for the people to see and judge for themselves any distortions. ZESN, observers and the media should be able to show voters both sides of the coin - the electoral process - in order to allow the voter an opportunity to make choices premised on accurate information. All observers and the media should be treated objectively and not as subjects of the regimes hatred. The challenge Zimbabwe faces is for the election outcome to be declared free and fair - the hallmark of democracy - according to the SADC Principles and Guidelines.

The odd thing about the whole electoral process is that just four weeks before the ballot, ZEC has yet to publish the constituency and ward boundaries, the number and location of the polling stations, or how voters can tell which wards they now fall under - there are 1,958 wards nationwide, 210 parliamentary constituencies and 61 senatorial constituencies. Whether it is because of under funding of the electoral operations or a deliberate omission, ZEC lacks capacity in whatever they do. Lack of manpower and resources at ZEC is affecting voter education.

It has emerged that the situation is being exploited by ZANU (PF) supporters, especially in remote areas, who are going about intimidating the electorate and lying to them about the voting process.

There are fears that the harmonised elections will be marred by serious logistical problems, amid reports ZEC is not performing its duties. ZEC has failed to prepare for the 29th March elections because of a lack of resources, especially funding for this mammoth task. ZEC has introduced a localised voters' roll, requiring voters to cast their votes at prescribed voting stations, but the electoral body has yet to publish a full list of the polling stations, apart from saying there would be 11,000 polling stations around the country.

On the constitutional procedure of the electoral process, the ZEC presented the initial delimitation report to President Robert Mugabe on January 16 before it was tabled before Parliament, which was expected to examine and debate it in terms of the constitution. This was, however, not done as Parliament immediately adjourned to April 8. President Mugabe proclaimed the final delimitation report with the constituency and ward boundaries into law on February 8, a week after the inspection of the voters roll had started.

A question that immediately springs to one's mind is how the Registrar-General's Office came up with the wards voters' rolls for the whole country before the proclamation of the final delimitation report? An opposition spokesperson said, "Everything is being fast-tracked. Parliament was not afforded the opportunity to input into the report which has remained a secret document and that is why we have always expressed concerns over issues of legitimacy in our electoral processes."

The manipulation of the constitution and electoral processes is not unique to Robert Mugabe alone, as he is merely a reflection of other African leaders who have decided to give him succour than tell him in no unmistakable terms that what he was trying to do, what he did and what he continues to do, are totally unacceptable in the 21st Century African Renaissance. If Mugabe feels that he is so beloved by his people, the right thing to do is to offer the unconditional opportunity to express themselves by allowing everybody entitled to vote to vote freely according to their choice. Unfortunately, Mugabe did and continues to do everything to make sure that he steals the harmonised election in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabweans fought for "one-man-one vote" - in addition to the equitable land distribution. Why place qualifications for voter registration like property (housing) ownership? These are colonial relics ZANU (PF) still clings to. For the purpose of the 1979 election that brought Zimbabwe independence in 1980, the metal registration card was enough to be allowed to vote.

The human cost of Mugabe's hold on power is of course enough to justify a vote of no confidence in his policies. Yet the damage to the prestige of the African Union - and Mugabe's own moral standing - is also very large. African leaders are quick to remind Westerners in particular that they do not deserve the disrespect they so often receive from do-gooders and media the world over. By refusing to isolate and ultimately break Mugabe's hold on power, however, Africa's "big men" make themselves seem very small.

If all Robert Mugabe has accomplished is to use every subterfuge to win an election and then go begging to the same people he expelled from monitoring the election, it is a sad commentary on his bloated ego, as well as on those who encourage him to stay in power at all costs. One cannot thumb one's nose at the same people you are going to be crying to for help - the West.

Analysts say truly democratic polls are a prerequisite to any plan to revive Zimbabwe's economic meltdown, characterised by the world's highest inflation of more than 100,000%, unemployment at 85% and shortages of fuel, electricity, food, essential medicines, foreign currency and every basic survival commodity that includes cash.

While talks mediated by the South African President, Thabo Mbeki, to ensure free and fair elections have collapsed, diplomats admit in private that the elections will be held in the same skewed environment that has produced controversial results before. There are concerns expressed by a wide variety of civic organisations about the pre-election environment, including reports of voter confusion and inadequate preparation; evidence of irregularities associated with registration and inspection of the voters' rolls, which is in shambles; and concerns that the violence of the past year will inevitably affect the campaign and polling.

In a free and fair election, the electorate must feel free to vote without constraint or coercion, and be confident that their votes will be counted accurately, and that the poll results will correctly reflect the vote count.

Many Zimbabweans, who feel there will be no respite to their suffering as long as Robert Mugabe clings to power, are hoping for a miracle to happen that will see him voted from power. Mugabe has transformed from a revered revolutionary at independence to a feared and resented monster whose legacy evokes the worst tyrannies - like Idi Amin Dada - Africa has experienced.

Mugabe cannot claim to be fighting for Zimbabwe's sovereignty when he should know his victory in the March elections cannot guarantee it. That spectre can only make Zimbabweans angrier and more desperate. It is the perception that Mugabe has overstayed and now wants power for its own sake and not to safeguard the interest of the nation that has caused the rebellion and defiance in ZANU (PF) symbolised by Simba Makoni's decision to challenge him for the presidency.

The 2008 election is peculiar in that an absolute majority is required for any presidential candidate to be declared the winner and Mugabe knows the possibility of anyone obtaining the requisite 51% or higher is far-fetched. The economy is one factor the ageing leader is unable to rig. Mugabe's challengers believe that the 84-year old dictator is the problem; a major bulwark against resuscitation of the comatose economy. Voters regard Mugabe as the greatest impediment to social development because of his government's paper trail of disaster spanning over two decades. If Robert Mugabe were to be forced into a run-off, it would almost certainly give his rival - either Tsvangirai or Makoni - unstoppable momentum.

My prediction is in a relatively fair count of the votes, Mugabe may actually be removed from the race in the first round and in the second round of polling, Zimbabweans may have to decide between a trade unionist leader and a ZANU (PF) apparatchik to fulfil national aspirations.

Robert Mugabe must be aware of the historical significance of the March election. "Beware the Ides of March" has forever imbued that date with a sense of foreboding. Even in Shakespeare's time, sixteen centuries later, audiences attending his play Julius Caesar wouldn't have blinked twice upon hearing the date called the Ides of March.