Minimum requirements for a free, peaceful, and credible election in Zimbabwe
PART ONE: The Problem
Before the 2000 general election in Zimbabwe, the late Vice-President, Simon Muzenda, told the nation that if Zanu-PF chose to nominate a baboon as candidate, then the people would have to vote for that baboon.
Not surprisingly, the people did not choose the Zanu-PF candidate, but the regime at the time did not intend to simply rely on people’s free choices.
Robert Mugabe claims he has the support of the people of Zimbabwe. But he has yet to prove it in a free, credible and violence-free election, without the benefit of the following documented election rigging techniques that he and his Zanu-PF party have deployed in the past:
• Partisan electoral commission with handpicked management,
• Secret ballot paper printing and distribution,
• Ghost voters and doctored voters’ roll,
• Ban on expatriate citizen vote,
• Ward and district gerrymandering,
• Party-appointed internal monitors (civil servants and the like),
• Very limited international observer teams, no foreign supervision or monitoring deterrent
• Partisan-controlled, state-owned mass media,
• Selective accreditation of international media personnel,
• Intimidation of perceived opposition groups,
• ID document confiscation campaigns,
• Pre-election targeted violence by party youth militia, predominantly in rural areas,
• Partisan police, army, air force and intelligence corps, used in a planned nationwide, pre-election campaign of deadly violence and coercion,
• Unlimited use of state resources to finance the party election campaign,
• Bribery and coercion of rural traditional chiefs and headmen,
• Use of (and withholding of) food aid to force voters to support Zanu-PF,
• Banning of opposition rallies,
• Supervised voting of all security force personnel in the presence of senior commanding officers,
• Fraudulent postal balloting (8000 people applied to cast postal votes in 2008 but 600 000 postal ballot papers were printed and issued).
• Secret transfer of polling station results by police radio frequencies
• Military controlled ballot box transportation without supervision and the presence of all the contestants’ polling agents,
• Unobserved ballot counting and tabulation of results,
• Illegal delays in revealing the results of poll counting. (For example, in March 2008 there was a full month’s delay before the announcement of presidential results),
• Campaigns of violent post-election reprisals.
In addition to the above measures, in the Presidential ‘run-off’ election of 2008 Robert Mugabe was the sole candidate, thus guaranteed victory. But leaving nothing to chance, his electoral machine managed to produce a much a higher number of votes for him than in the first round, in spite of a significantly lower voter turnout.
It is evident that anyone on the planet could get elected president in Zimbabwe with these advantages.
Consequently, the SADC Election Observer Mission’s official report concluded that:
“The process leading up to the presidential run-off elections held on 27 June 2008 did not conform to SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. However, the Election Day was peaceful. Based on the above-mentioned observations, the Mission is of the view that the prevailing environment impinged on the credibility of the electoral process. The elections did not represent the will of the people of Zimbabwe.”
The only possible interpretation of this statement is that Robert Mugabe’s presidency is illegitimate.
SADC, led by South Africa under president Thabo Mbeki, nevertheless declared the election ‘free and fair’, then went ahead and allowed Robert Mugabe to retain all the vital controls of power in the subsequent ‘power-sharing’ General Political Agreement (GPA).
The outcomes have proved to be entirely unsatisfactory.
After more than a year, the previous regime has refused to comply with the provisions in the GPA. Zanu-PF has retained its de facto one-party state apparatus and the misrule, looting, political violence, human rights violations, impunity and selective application of the rule of law continues unabated.
The cosmetic improvement to the economy brought about by the removal of the national currency is a temporary situation, which is being used as window-dressing while the excesses of dictatorship continue as before.
Already classified as a Failed State, Zimbabwe is now a delinquent state in terms of unregulated diamond and gold trading. The country has become a threat to the stability of the southern African region.
SADC as architect of the GPA is directly responsible for resolving this potentially unstable situation. It must immediately take steps to enforce, as guaranteed, Zimbabwe’s transition to good governance and genuine democracy. It is in SADC’s interests to create the conditions that will kick-start the country’s rehabilitation into a stable economic partner which will anchor the prosperity of the region and ultimately bring about the dreamed-of African Renaissance.
The only acceptable means of achieving this transition is for the region to refuse another rigged election while enabling a solution by one of two methods :
A) a process similar to South Africa’s CODESA, or
B) the holding of free and fair elections under a neutral and independent electoral administration.
In both cases, the process would have to be backed and protected by the SADC Electoral Protocol where the implications of non-compliance (cf Lesotho) are clear. This provides the mandate to ensure the peaceful transfer of power through a legitimately elected government freely chosen by the citizens of Zimbabwe.
On 9th April, negotiators from both the MDC and Zanu-PF were reported to have agreed on several important electoral reforms, but these have not yet been adopted. Although these represent a giant step in the right direction, changes to the Electoral Act have to be passed by the (Zanu-PF partisan) Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa.
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PART TWO: The Solution
In Part one, we concluded that:
The only acceptable means of achieving this transition is for the region to refuse another rigged election in Zimbabwe, while enabling a solution by one of two methods :
A) a process similar to South Africa’s CODESA, or
B) the holding of free and fair elections under a neutral and independent electoral administration.
The CODESA-type option appears to be unfeasible because the Mugabe faction will renege on any outcome unfavourable to itself, and will refuse to relinquish its repressive control. The remaining option is new harmonized elections.
Another rigged election is unacceptable and will perpetuate the personal suffering and economic destruction of Zimbabwe, along with a continued flood of economic and political refugees into neighbouring states.
In order to implement free and legitimate elections in Zimbabwe today, there are four basic requirements:
1) Electoral reforms,
2) Internationally supervised election process,
3) The deterrent of the implications of non-compliance with the SADC Electoral Protocol,
4) The official endorsement and support of SADC, the AU and UN.
Political will, funding sources and administrative resources would have to be found for the implementation of these requirements, and all three could be provided by an initiative motivated by African democratic institutions and backed by the United Nations. Sufficient funding to enable a fresh election has been offered by various international bodies.
There has been no meaningful reform of Zimbabwe’s Electoral Act, the Electoral Commission or the Voters’ Roll since they were last used in 2008.
The following recommendations have been informed by, and formulated within, the frameworks of the standing AU and SADC regional protocols, guidelines and charters governing elections, and contextualised by the findings of pan-African dialogues, conferences and Zimbabwean civic bodies such as the ZESN (Zimbabwe Election Support Network).
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1) Electoral Reforms needed:
In September 2009 the ZESN produced a list of the most pressing electoral reforms that need to be legislated before a credible election can take place in Zimbabwe. ZDN endorses these required changes, which are summarised hereunder in priority order:
1) Constitution: The implementation of a new constitution in which will be embodied reformed fundamental electoral laws.
2) Electoral Authority: A new and truly independent and non-partisan electoral commission and administration, in which the Zimbabwean public have confidence, must be formed.
3) Voters’ Roll: The above new organisation must be in charge of compiling a new voters’ roll. (Currently this is done via the Registrar-General of Voters, appointed by a partisan president). Additionally, an audit of the Roll should be carried out, and a new bio-metric system installed to minimise balloting fraud.
4) Delimitation Exercise: A full and comprehensive electoral constituency delimitation exercise to correct previous mass-scale gerrymandering.
5) Tabulation of Results: Transparent and expeditious counting and tabulation of results to take place in the presence of candidates or their polling agents.
6) Intimidation: Safeguards to be legislated and put in place to eliminate partisan violence and intimidation of voters.
7) Monitoring Restrictions: Removal of the regulations restricting election observers and monitors; local and international observers must be free to observe all elections and by-elections before, during and after the process.
8) Media Restrictions: Removal of the regulations restricting access to and reporting by the media on the polling process before, during and after any electoral event. This would include freeing of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and Zimpapers from partisan management and direction.
9) Independent Electoral Commission: Limits set on the powers of the Electoral Commission to change regulations. Any changes that can be made should not have to be approved by the Justice minister. The Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act cannot be used to change any electoral rules.
10) Voter Verification: Citizens should be allowed to vote at any polling station in their constituency on the basis of their National ID cards. (At present citizens can only vote in their ward, with proof of residence, valid voter registration slip and ID).
11) Expatriate Vote: That citizens residing outside Zimbabwe should be able to cast their vote by postal ballot. A new expatriate voting system with fraud-proof mechanisms must be set up.
12) Voter Education: In the case of a referendum on a new Constitution, full and transparent voter education on the full contents of the draft being submitted, must first be disseminanted nationwide to all citizens, including illiterates.
However, President Mugabe uses his presidential powers selectively and illegally to overturn, block or indefinitely delay the signing into law and gazetting of any legislation he does not support. This would have to be dealt with by Parliamentary decree, guaranteed by African regional bodies.
In addition, the newly formed Electoral Commission cannot have reforms or changes to the Electoral Act passed without the approval of the current Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa (who is a Zanu-PF hardliner). This too would need to be dealt with, possibly by re-assigning the administration of the Commission to an interim neutral electoral authority.
Therefore, the Inclusive Government in Zimbabwe should in the first instance be invited by SADC to fast-track and adopt the above electoral reforms.
Then, in the case of noncompliance of the GPA, the ramifications and implications must be spelt out by SADC followed by the imposition of an Emergency Election to be held under the auspices of the AU and SADC, with UN endorsement.
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2) Internationally supervised election process
Whether a new Constitution is adopted or not, the original Zimbabwe Electoral Act should be suspended and replaced by the following measures to be implemented and supervised by an independent regional Emergency Electoral Administrative body.
The implementation of free and credible elections for Zimbabwe, whether under Emergency conditions or not, would include the following practical measures: (Note: these are ZDN recommendations which have endorsed by a cross-section of pro-democracy NGOs, research Institutes and civic groups.)
• The neutral, independent administration of the electoral process should be implemented according to the SADC Electoral Protocol international codes of best practice.
• The electoral administration to be set up and managed by a team of experts under the umbrella of the United Nations and drawn from African states’ most respected election authorities – e.g. teams from South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa, and Zimbabwe’s own civic bodies, NCA and ZESN.
• Sufficient numbers of UN, AU and SADC Peacekeepers to be deployed countrywide to prevent pre-election violence and post-election reprisals. Peacekeepers to be in place at least 3 months before and 2 months after the results are announced (in the case of a referendum or by-election) or until the incumbent government has been formed (in the case of a general election).
• Security forces, with the exception of police, to be confined to barracks for the determined electoral period.
• A widely implemented public information campaign in all official languages, to educate the voters on any changes to the voting system.
• No financing of party political campaigns from state resources.
• Immediate media reform and the repeal of POSA and AIPPA (the restrictive laws governing media and public gatherings).
• Free party political campaigning allowed, with the state-run media to be released from party control, direction or censorship.
• Free access to communication channels including telephone, microwave, 3G and radio installations.
• Local and international media personnel & their equipment to be accredited and allowed to travel and work freely within the country prior to, during and after the election.
• Independent and neutral armed security personnel, equipped with field radios, at every polling station to protect the voters on election days.
• Neutral and independent, qualified election supervisors and monitors to be recruited by the Emergency Electoral administration and deployed before and during the election process.
• Neutral and independent supply of ballot papers, boxes, indelible marking inks, tamper-proofing devices, etc. to be sourced and distributed.
• Training of local election monitors and balloting officials to international best-practise standards, with sufficient resources to support their work (food, transport, phones) before during and after election days.
• No campaigning allowed within 300 metres of polling booths.
• Voters’ Roll to be temporarily set aside and replaced with the presentation of national ID cards.
• Restoration of voter rights of permanent residents.
• Re-issue of destroyed or confiscated ID documents to be expedited.
• Citizens and permanent residents to be allowed to vote in any ward in Zimbabwe.
• Diaspora vote: Temporary balloting stations to be set up in every country hosting a significant number of Zimbabwean citizens; criteria to be determined urgently beforehand via the diasporean civic networks. Expatriate voters to use their Zimbabwe ID or Passport.
• Signed and verifed on-site results of initial ballot count posted on the outside of each voting station at the close of balloting for public inspection; the document to be photographed by an official monitor, the image and results MMS’d, SMS’d and/or radioed to a central monitoring post for immediate public broadcast from a national tabulation centre.
• Diasporean vote count to be verified in the same way and results faxed directly to the central counting facility in Zimbabwe as well as to the independent central tabulation centre – Zimbabwean embassy staff are often partisan.
• Ballot boxes sealed and secured before transportation under neutral 24-hour guard from each polling station to voting ward pickup point, thence escorted to municipal, provincial and finally national tabulation centre.
Each box checked in and accounted for at each of the three points, each ballot box assembly point to be guarded 24 hours/day.
• Independent neutral management and supervision of final vote counting, with a ballot audit before tabulation of officially verified results. No delays allowed in official announcing of results.
• Irregularities and complaints reporting facility to be set up, with official logging and subsequent investigation of all incidents.
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3) The deterrent of the implications of non-compliance with SADC Electoral Protocol /AU Charter’s Military Option
Chapter 6 of the AU Charter on Democracy, Elections and Government requires states to institutionalise civilian control of the military and to punish unconstitutional overthrow of democratically elected governments.
The only environment in which control of the military could be transferred, is with the free and credible election of a legitimate democratic government.
The AU’s Constitutive Act furthermore stipulates in Article 4(h) that the AU has the right to intervene in a member state ‘pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity’. The act thus creates a legal basis for intervention to prevent crimes against humanity.
Elections in Zimbabwe have, since 1980, been held in an environment of appalling politically-motivated violence and rigging. The current President, backed by the commanders of the security forces (a continuation of Ian Smith’s Joint Operations Command) has vowed never to give up power through the ballot: “How can a ballpoint pen argue with a gun?” said Mugabe prior to the harmonised elections in 2008. His party cadres routinely refer to the electorate as ‘the enemy’.
It is obvious that voters alone cannot convince Mr Mugabe and his party to accept defeat and go into honourable opposition. Thus, if the will of the people is to be respected, their choice of government has to be physically protected from the very real threat of a coup.
Apart from reluctance to relinquish political power and status, Mugabe and his generals are very likely to engage in civil warfare in order to retain their direct access to valuable national commodities – agricultural land, diamonds, gold and platinum in particular.
A peaceful and genuine handover of the instruments of power can only be achieved if the democratic transition is backed by a NEUTRAL military force large enough to prevent counter-insurgency.
The African Standby Force could be convened for this purpose.
The AU’s African Standby Force (ASF) will have been developed by the end of 2010. ASF brigades could therefore be formed and deployed in Zimbabwe for the express purpose of preventing violence and supporting the democratic choice of the people in a 2011 election.
The AU’s Peace and Security Council Protocol specifically authorises deployment of the ASF in monitoring roles, conflict prevention, disarmament exercises, and armed intervention.
NB: Zimbabwe has recently been elected to serve a term on the AU Peace and Security Council – and President Mugabe is therefore expecting to be able to block any Council decisions regarding possible intervention in Zimbabwe.
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4) The active support of SADC, the AU and UN.
The role of regional and continental bodies is paramount as the solution to the Zimbabwe crisis is one that has to be solved by Africans, and it is extremely important that the entire process of holding a free and fair election should be officially adopted, endorsed and supported through these bodies. The resources and expertise and neutrality of the United Nations would be sought once the initial decisions have been made.
On Security Forces. The de-politicisation of the security forces is the top priority. While recognizing the difficulties of achieving this in the current circumstances, a dialogue on the role of the army and the police in elections must start now. A conference on this specific item could be organized, ideally under the auspices of the AU and the UN, where senior police and army officers from all the provinces could participate.
The SADC election guidelines must be reviewed and ensure that they reflect the experience collected for the past 20 years of elections in the region to close all the gaps and prevent Zimbabwe from running once again elections which bring chaos than peace to the country.
The AU Charter on Democracy, Elections and Government must be adopted without delay by at least 15 member countries, including Zimbabwe. The bloc of countries represented by ECOWAS could complete this adoption process, should it so choose.
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Conclusion:
The political will of the AU, of SADC and of the Republic of South Africa as guarantor of the GPA is being publicly tested by the crisis of governance in Zimbabwe. These bodies recognise that the misrule in Zimbabwe has already impacted negatively on the region, and threatens to cause further disruptions.
A free and credible election in Zimbabwe must be implemented by any means necessary. Without this, no future government or president can be considered legitimate in the eyes of Zimbabwean citizens, the region and the world.
It is incumbent therefore on the AU, SADC, the UN and the international community at large, NOT to recognise the result of any election in Zimbabwe unless it has complied with the above minimum conditions and requirements.
We urge the serious consideration of the above recommendations and look to the strong and inspired leadership of South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma to make history in Africa by siding with the people of Zimbabwe in their struggle for democracy.
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Produced by Zimbabwe Democracy Now
References:
African Union (AU) Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance
(adopted by the Eighth Ordinary Session of the Assembly, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 30 January 2007)
AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa
– AHG/DECL.1 (XXXVIII)
AU Guidelines for African Union Electoral Observation and Monitoring Missions – EX/CL/35 (III) Annex II.
SADC Electoral Protocol
SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections
SEOM report on Zimbabwe run-off elections issued June 30 2008
SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) preliminary statement presented by the Hon. José Marcos Barrica Minister in the Republic of Angola and head of the SEOM on the Zimbabwe Presidential Runoff and House of National Assembly by-elections held on 27 June 2008
COMMUNIQUÉ – Extraordinary Summit of the SADC Heads of State and Government, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa, January 2009 (review of the implementation of the Zimbabwe Global Political Agreement)
ACCRA COMMUNIQUÉ of the COLLOQUIUM ON AFRICAN ELECTIONS
November 14, 2009 (convened by leaders from election management bodies, political parties, security services, civil society and media from 25 sub-Saharan countries)
The role and Place of the African Standby Force (ASF) within the African Union’s African Peace and Security Architecture (ASA)
ISS Paper 209 • January 2010 by Dr Solomon A. Dersso
THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON DEMOCRACY, ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE:
A NEW DAWN FOR THE ENTHRONEMENT OF LEGITIMATE GOVERNANCE IN
AFRICA? By Solomon T. Ebobrah, AfriMAP, May 2007
(examines the salient features of the AU Charter in comparison with the Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance adopted by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2001)
ZIMBABWE ELECTION SUPPORT NETWORK – A Comment on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Report on the 2008 General Elections.
29 May 2009
ZIMBABWE ELECTION SUPPORT NETWORK – Electoral Reform Proposals
21 April 2009
ZIMBABWE ELECTION SUPPORT NETWORK – Priority Areas for Electoral Reform ahead of By Elections and Referendum.
16 September 2009
Measuring the Zimbabwe Presidential Runoff 2008 Election according to the SADC Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections
Analysis by States in Transition Observatory (SITO), July 2008
Measuring the Zimbabwe Harmonised 2008 Elections According to the SADC Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections
Institute of Justice and Reconciliation, June 2008
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