Statement on the Zimbabwe Elections

SADC Parliamentary Forum Observer Mission (Windhoek)

PRESS RELEASE
March 13, 2002, Harare

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary
Forum has completed its interim assessment of the Zimbabwe 2002
elections.

On the invitation of the government of Zimbabwe by letter dated
February 4, 2002, the SADC Parliamentary Forum Observer mission
constituted a delegation of 70 members, consisting of 39 Members of
Parliament and support staff drawn from the Secretariat in
Windhoek, Namibia and eleven parliaments of the region.

It is the policy of the Forum to observe elections of all member
states starting with the pre-election phase. This is the seventh
election the Forum has observed in the region since 1999.

Since its inception of the observation programme, the Forum has
collectively evolved Norms and Standards for Elections in the SADC
region approved in March 2001. The main objective of the Norms and
Standards is to ensure the conduct of peaceful, free and fair
elections in the region.

In observing the elections, the Forum was guided by the
constitutional and legal framework of Zimbabwe and the Norms and
Standards for Election Observation in the SADC Region. Among other
things, the Mission was detailed to assess the security and
political environment in which the elections were to be held.

Deployment

The Forum Deployed to all the ten provinces following consultations
and interaction with all stakeholders, including political
parties, electoral authorities, representatives of civil society,
media editors, Security officers and members of the Diplomatic
corps.

The teams proceeded to observe the campaign rallies, meetings,
preparations for elections, location of polling stations, media
coverage of elections, voting and counting processes and actions
that impinged on the fundamental rights and freedoms of the
citizens of Zimbabwe as enshrined in Part III of the constitution.

The Political and Security Climate

The Forum has observed that the political and security climate in
which the elections were conducted was complex. It was
characterized by high levels of polarization and political
intolerance, lack of communication amongst stakeholders and lack
of free flow of information to the electorate, which are necessary
conditions for democracy to prevail.

We observed noticeable differences in the provinces but generally
there was no euphoria that normally characterizes elections the
SADC region.

Violence and Intimidation

The election campaign was marred by incidents of violence in all
provinces of the country. Police and party leaders have not denied
the fact that there has been violence in various forms. What seemed
to be in question was the perpetration of that violence. Violence
was visited upon ordinary voters, party supporters and leaders
alike. Reports indicated that violence was perpetrated by
supporters of the two main political parties-the ruling Zimbabwe
African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the opposition
Movement For Democratic Change (MDC).

Not only did the SADC Parliamentary Forum Witness some of these
acts, its mission members were themselves targets of an
orchestrated attack 10 kilometres out of Chinhoyi on 24 February.

However, evidence indicated that the majority of those affected
were supporters of the MDC or those perceived to be opponents of
the ruling party and government. Violence was manifest in the
number of hospitalized victims, numerous cases of alleged torture,
arson, assault and incidences of false imprisonment.

The prevalence of violence is reflected in virtually all reports
from our observers in the field, which included abduction of some
polling agents of MDC; in one such incident, our observer team
intervened when Police in Mashonaland Central detained 24 election
agents of the opposition party who were on their way to Harare to
vote.

Regrettably, the phenomena of political intolerance and violence
seem to have been prevalent since the 2000 legislative elections.
Acts of violence appeared to be systematically employed by youth
and War veterans with camps dotted around the country.

Police Conduct

In any situation of conflict, the police were expected to be
impartial. In spite of the arrests made, there are significant
claims that the police have been partisan in handling of the
political situation when called upon to intervene. The use of riot
squads to disperse potential voters in some Harare constituencies
raised questions about the impartiality of the Police.

Voters Roll

A voter's register is considered a basic condition for a successful
election. In this election, concerns have been raised regarding the
timeous release of the voter's roll which was only made available
three days before the polls, leaving no time for the electorate to
verify its accuracy. As a result of this, it was observed that a
large number of people were unable to vote.

Issues of the voter's roll were compounded by the announcement that
a supplementary register had been prepared and would be used in
the 2002 elections contrary to earlier announcements that
registration for 2002 was closed.

Freedom to Campaign

In any election, contestants should be able to move freely among
the electorate. In this election whereas the ruling party's
campaign was relatively uninterrupted, some of opposition party
meetings were cancelled or interrupted by opponents. It was
however, significant, in two instances in Harare and Bulawayo,
rallies of opposing parties were conducted in the same city without
any violence. This should be the norm.

Polling stations

Information to the electorate and other stakeholders on the
location of polling stations was not available to enable the
electorate to make informed decisions. Much as we appreciate the
increase of polling stations in rural areas, the reduction of the
number of polling stations in urban areas had a major impact on the
elections. This was particularly so in Harare and Chitungwiza where
tripartite elections were held. It resulted in congestion with some
people spending more than 48 hours in queues because of their sheer
determination to vote.

Voting and counting

We observed that in many provinces the voting was peaceful. Well
over 50 percent of the registered voters were able to cast their
vote. The major exception was the Harare Province where the voting
process was excruciatingly slow resulting in the extension of both
times and days of voting.

There were also a number of violent incidents in which the police
dispersed voters from polling stations especially in high-density
suburbs. Further, although a large number of people voted, a
significant number of the electorate was unable to vote as a result
of logistical, administrative and other impediments. The counting
proceeded very well.

It was significant to note that the recommendation from the Forum
observers for the polling agents to ride with the ballot boxes was
accepted and implemented. However, free movement of party agents
was compromised by acts of intimidation and reported abductions in
some provinces.

However, the massive turnout of voters demonstrates the commitment
of the people of Zimbabwe to multiparty democracy.

Lack of Independence of the Electoral Commission

Despite various recommendations and practices in the SADC region,
Zimbabwe is one of the countries without an Independent Electoral
Commission. The assignment of roles to three different electoral
bodies, the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC), the Election
Directorate and the Registrar-General's Office affects efficiency
and causes duplication. The government should seriously consider
establishing an Independent Electoral Commission as recommended by
the Forum after the 2000 legislative elections and as held by the
Norms and Standards of Elections in SADC.

Access to Public Media

There was lack of access to the public media by political parties
other than the ruling party. The monopolization of the public
media by the ruling party went contrary to the guidelines set out
by the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) for equal and
equitable access to contesting parties. The slanted coverage the
state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) and the
Zimbabwe Newspapers deprived the electorate an opportunity to make
an informed choice.

Conclusion

The climate of insecurity obtaining in Zimbabwe since the 2000
parliamentary elections was such that the electoral process could
not be said to adequately comply with the Norms and Standards for
Elections in the SADC region.

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

It is evident to us that elections may not, in themselves, be a
panacea to Zimbabwe's complex situation of political conflict. We
therefore appeal to the political leadership of the country, the
churches, civil society and the business sector to join hands and
begin a healing process for Zimbabwe in the face of enormous
problems. An election should not be construed to be one of "victor"
and "vanquished".

We also urge the Heads of State and Government of SADC countries to
urgently engage the leadership of Zimbabwe to facilitate dialogue
and reconciliation. We believe it is within the powers of the
people of Zimbabwe, through their leaders with the support of SADC
to avert a political crisis in the country and bring about peace.

Signed for and on Behalf of the SADC Parliamentary Forum Observer
Mission, Harare, Zimbabwe, 13 March 2002

Hon. Duke G. Lefhoko, MP Head of Mission
Vice-Chair Hon Dr Elvy Mtafu, MP
Vice-Chair Hon. Lutero Simango, MP