The Zimbabwe 2013 Elections Thread

Haai shame man. They just wanted to give him another chance. Isn't that the general thought process here as well.
He has been bad but we will give him another chance to make it right.
 
Here is a snapshot of developments since Zimbabwe held disputed elections on Wednesday.

President Robert Mugabe, 89, swept the vote against his rival and reluctant partner in an uneasy coalition for the past four years, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, 61, of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

--WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013--

- Zimbabweans flock to cast their ballots in presidential, legislative and municipal elections. Many form long queues in the cold hours before polling stations open.

- As he casts his ballot, Mugabe dismisses allegations of vote rigging, saying people will be able to vote "freely and fairly".

- Casting his own ballot, Tsvangirai expresses confidence he will win an overwhelming victory.

- The MDC lists a battery of irregularities -- including one million being turned away. The voters' register had been released less than 24 hours before balloting began.

- The Electoral Commission reports "a high voter turnout generally at all polling stations".

- The African Union's top poll observer, Olusegun Obasanjo, says shortly after polling stations close "the conduct of the election... has been peaceful, orderly, free and fair".

--THURSDAY, AUGUST 1--

- Mugabe's ZANU-PF party claims that it has "romped to victory".

- Zimbabwe election observers in the Zimbabwe Election Support Network say the vote was "seriously compromised".

- Tsvangirai describes the election as a "huge farce" and "null and void".

- Riot police deploy near the MDC's offices.

- A veteran Zimbabwean opposition leader, Roy Bennett, calls for a mass campaign of passive resistance.

--FRIDAY, AUGUST 2--

- Mugabe is likely to win 70 to 75 percent of the vote, his party says, predicting a two thirds majority in parliament for itself, enough to amend the constitution.

- The AU's Obasanjo says the vote was "free... credible".

- Southern African regional bloc SADC says it is too early to declare the election fair, but notes the vote was free and passed off without violence. It calls on all parties to accept the result.

- The MDC says it will not recognise the results.

--SATURDAY, AUGUST 3--

- ZANU-PF officially takes more than two thirds of the parliamentary vote.

- Mugabe re-elected with 61 percent of the presidential vote, against Tsvangirai's 34 percent.

- Tsvangirai vows to challenge the "fraudulent" polls in court and to boycott the government.
 
Zim elections: DA refuses to sign SADC report

Masizole Mnqasela, Shadow Deputy Minister of Home Affairs
3 August 2013

I have today refused to sign the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADCPF) Mission’s majority report on the Zimbabwe elections, when requested to do so. I, along with 14 other observers, do not agree that the elections were free and fair.

Last night, the DA was asked to sign off on the SADCPF Mission’s statement declaring the elections free and fair. I refused as my observations indicate that the credibility and fairness of the elections are questionable due to irregularities with the voters’ roll.

The Zimbabwean electoral commissioner, Mkhululi Nyathi, has resigned citing the unprofessional manner in which the elections were conducted. He also implied that the elections were not free and fair.

Zimbabwean electoral legislation states that all parties should have access to the voters’ roll well before the elections take place. This was not the case and the voters’ roll remains elusive.

As we have said before, there were numerous irregularities with the preliminary voters’ roll and people who were registered to vote were turned away on the day. People were also allowed to vote using registration slips which opens the process up to abuse and fraud.

Not only does this flout the law but it also calls into question the credibility of the vote.

There is no provision which allows for us to make a minority report but we thank the SADCPF Mission for including our dissenting view in their report.

The DA, however, does not agree with the SADCPF Mission’s findings and we will be announcing our observations next week.

http://www.da.org.za/newsroom.htm?action=view-news-item&id=12667
 
Why are the SADCPF so keen on signing off on this being a freehand fair election if there are indeed so many irregularities?
 
rubytox said:
Sorry for asking the obvious question with no answer but WHY are African leaders so obsessed with power and wealth? The mind boggles.
Click to expand...

As Abraham Maslow noted, the basic needs of humans must be met (e.g. food, shelter, warmth, security, sense of belongingness etc.) before a person can achieve self-actualization - the need to be good, to be fully alive and to find meaning in life. Research shows that when people live lives that are different from their true nature and capabilities, they are less likely to be happy than those whose goals and lives match. For example, someone who has inherent potential to be a great artist or teacher may never realize his/her talents if their energy is focused on attaining the basic needs of humans.[4]
Click to expand...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-actualization

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanistic_psychology#Development_of_the_field

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs.png

better?
 
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rubytox said:
Sorry for asking the obvious question with no answer but WHY are African leaders so obsessed with power and wealth? The mind boggles.
Click to expand...

Everybody, or certainly all leaders are motivated by power and wealth. The question is why greater society doesn't hold the despot to account, or depose them.
 
Mugabe re-election a fraud: FEDUSA

The re-election of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe was a fraud and far from being free and fair, union federation Fedusa said on Monday.

According to its observer at the elections there were allegations of vote rigging and general administrative injustice, the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) said in a statement.

"Firstly we must agree that the Zimbabwean elections of 2013 were peaceful and without obvious intimidation, especially in light of what happened in 2008. However, we can categorically state that the electoral processes were not fair."

Fedusa said the voters' roll was only released on Tuesday, on the eve of the election, and many people who wanted to vote did not appear on the list.

Fedusa representative Elias Bila formed part of an observer team deployed by its regional mother body, the Southern African Trade Union Co-ordination Council (SATUCC). It represents 19 national trade union federations in 13 Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. Fedusa said SATUCC deployed 27 observers to six major provinces of Zimbabwe to observe the elections.

"Many voters who did not appear on the voters' roll were allowed to register there and then on a separate register, while others were not," it said.

"Most voting stations did not have basic services like electricity and many had to count ballots during the night by candlelight. This felt almost like we were in the previous century."

More worrying were instances where ballot counting was not done by the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission, but by the Zimbabwean police service, which was politically aligned to the ruling Zanu-PF party.

"There were obvious things like party agents assisting illiterate voters with their voting by basically voting on their behalf, without any questions being asked," Fedusa said.

Many voters were registered to vote at the wrong polling stations, meaning that they had to travel long distances.

Fedusa estimated that about one million people could have been affected by these administrative irregularities.

"The fact of the matter is that the Zimbabwean elections were not free and fair," it said.

"We believe from what we saw on the ground that the Movement for Democratic Change had a clear majority of votes at the stations, while it is reported that the Zanu-PF was victorious. This is simply not true."


Source : Sapa /ss/hdw/th/jk
Date : 05 Aug 2013 11:56
 
Zim Opposition to Challenge Vote

Zimbabwe's defeated presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday prepared to mount a legal and political challenge against the "sham" election that looks set to extend Robert Mugabe's 33-year rule.

Tsvangirai's allies have announced they will launch a constitutional court challenge against the results of Wednesday's election, which handed Mugabe a thumping 61 percent of the vote.

"Our lawyers are very busy at work. We will be lodging the presidential challenge before Friday," Douglas Mwonzora, spokesman for Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), told AFP.

The case could delay 89-year-old Mugabe's inauguration for another five-year term.

Once the complaint is lodged, the country's top court has 14 days to reach a decision.

Western nations, including former colonial ruler Britain, voiced serious doubts about the election while the regional SADC bloc said it was "free and peaceful" but stopped short of describing it as fair.

But MDC insiders acknowledge that finding a smoking gun for electoral fraud and navigating the notoriously polarised court system with be a fiendishly difficult.

The ruling ZANU-PF has welcomed the prospect of a court challenge over the vote -- the first since bloody 2008 elections led to the formation of an uneasy power-sharing pact between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

"What they are doing is a good thing, it's a wise road to take," ZANU-PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo said, expressing confidence the challenge will fail.

Constitutional law expert Lovemore Madhuku said that given the 61-34 percent vote split against Tsvangirai, his chances "are non-existent, completely non-existent".

"It's not a margin that normally gets challenged in court."

It is the third time that Tsvangirai, a 61-year-old former union leader, has tried and failed to unseat Mugabe.

Mwonzora said the MDC is preparing a "dossier of all the rigging that took place and we will put it in the public domain to show the people how the election was stolen."

The MDC has called for post-election an emergency summit of the regional bloc Southern African Development Community (SADC) after the group gave the vote a thumbs-up, but deferred on calling the election "fair".

South African President Jacob Zuma on Sunday extended his "profound congratulations" to Mugabe on his re-election after a "successful" vote while his Namibian counterpart Hifikepunye Pohamba also welcomed the vote.

"The people of Zimbabwe have once again demonstrated their trust and confidence in the Zanu-PF and your party leadership," he wrote in a letter to Mugabe.

The MDC's Mwonzora -- who himself lost his seat -- expressed regret at the verdict of Zimbabwe's neighbours.

"We discovered that the SADC and the African Union equate absence of bloodshed in elections to free and fair elections, which is an incorrect way of looking at things."

The MDC had more support further afield, with the United States and European nations including Britain condemning the election, and Australia even calling for a re-run.

Mugabe and his allies still face a number of Western sanctions.

The Zimbabwe stock exchange plunged 11 percent on Monday, the first day of trading since the results were issued, with foreign-owned stocks registering steep losses.

The MDC also took a hammering in the parliamentary vote, winning just 49 seats out of the 210 up for grabs -- down more than half from its 2008 performance -- against 160 for Mugabe's party.

Analysts say if the MDC is to rebound politically in the face of its defeat, it needs to completely rebuild.

"It needs a comprehensive introspection... just as ZANU-PF did when it was almost on its knees in 2008," said University of Zimbabwe political analyst Eldred Masunungure.

"That may entail leadership review especially at the top," he said.

Mwonzora however dismissed suggestions that it was time Tsvangirai was replaced as party leader.

"We stand solidly behind Morgan Tsvangirai as our president," he said. "The MDC is regrouping, we are gearing for a fresh election whenever it comes.

"If there is anything which has reunited us... (it) is this theft."

Aggrieved MDC parliamentary hopefuls who are alleging fraud are due to have their complaints heard by the electoral court.

These must be heard and settled within six months but will not stop the swearing-in of deputies.


Source : Sapa-AFP /sdv/hdw/ks
Date : 05 Aug 2013 16:18
 
SADC questions fairness of Zimbabwe poll

http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/2013/09/02/sadc-questions-fairness-of-zimbabwe-poll

The fairness of Zimbabwe's election is questionable, the Southern African Development Community said Monday, stating that the voters' roll was distributed by the national electoral commission too late for it to be verified.

"If the voters' roll isn't made available on time, the fairness of the election is brought into question," Bernard Membe, Tanzanian foreign affairs minister and head of the SADC election observer mission, told journalists in the capital Harare.

Overall, however, the polls were "free, peaceful and generally credible," Membe added.

President Robert Mugabe won Zimbabwe's July 31 elections with 61% of votes, followed by former prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai with 34%.

Tsvangirai refuses to recognise the outcome, saying his Movement for Democratic Change party received the voters' roll only on the eve of the elections, which made it impossible to audit the register of 6.4 million people.

After the election results were announced, the MDC challenged Mugabe's victory, but Zimbabwe's constitutional court dismissed the case.
 
So Zim will have to put up with Mugabe for another 10 years as he'll simply repeat the process at the next elections for his second term. Dude clearly wants to die in office and avoid any possible legal issues. Though Morgan has turned out into a disappointment between the last elections and now. He's partly to blame for Mugabe returning to power.
 
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