The Zimbabwe 2013 Elections Thread

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LazyLion

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Zimbabwe was plunged into fresh political crisis Thursday as Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai vowed to fight a unilateral decision by President Robert Mugabe's to hold elections on July 31.

Mugabe used temporary presidential powers to declare a vote that would see an end to their uneasy power-sharing agreement.

"President Mugabe is acting unlawfully and unconstitutionally," said Tsvangirai, adding: "As prime minister I cannot and will not accept this."

While Mugabe's move would comply with a constitutional court order to hold elections by the end of July, the date of the vote is fiercely contested.

Tsvangirai has vowed to veto any election date that comes before democratic reforms are put into place, fearing Mugabe's Zanu-PF may once again attempt to manipulate the vote.

Previous Zimbabwean elections have been widely condemned as rigged.

In a bid to end violence that marred previous elections, regional leaders forced Mugabe into a unity government with Tsvangirai.

As part of the deal the pair entered into a unity government and implemented a swathe of reforms.

Zimbabweans have already voted in favour of a new constitution, a key pillar of those reforms, but Tsvangirai has argued more reforms are needed to electoral law and the security services.

Under the deal Mugabe must consult Tsvangirai about the date of the election.

"The interpretation of the word 'consultation' is a bit of a challenge," said Trevor Maisiri of the International Crisis Group.

"If you speak to Zanu-PF they'll say consultation means the president can ask the principals what they think. With their suggestions he can make a decision."

"The MDC say 'we'll make the decision together'."


Source : Sapa-AFP /sdv/jk
Date : 13 Jun 2013 13:18
 
b_crazy said:
Wasn't Mugabe forced to by some court recently?

/Off to google
Click to expand...

Yip:
The Constitutional Court ruling that an election be called by July 31st is being challenged by Zimbabwean citizens, who say the short time frame violates their rights.

The ruling almost two weeks ago followed a challenge by Harare man Jealousy Mawarire, who had approached the newly constituted court asking for an order clarifying when an election could be held.

The result was the court order compelling Robert Mugabe to call an election before the end of July.

Speculation has since been rife that the court ruling forms part of a wider ZANU PF plan to force elections to take place early, despite a lack of reforms that would ensure a credible poll. Mawarire himself has been linked to ZANU PF, and his case was allegedly bankrolled by the CIO using funds from a ZANU PF propaganda initiative called 'Operation Spiderweb'.

Both MDC formations within the coalition government have critcised the ruling and raised concern about the short time frame the ruling has put in place for fresh polls.

Other Zimbabweans have also been left distressed by the ruling, and two separate challenges have now been filed by citizens, seeking to have the decision overturned.

The first case, filed at the Supreme Court last Friday, involves Bulawayo woman Maria Phiri who, under Zimbabwe's old constitution, was regarded as an alien and unable to vote. She argues that former aliens have to acquire identity cards first before registering, and may not be able to take advantage of the current registration process. As such, she argues, polls could only be held after August 12th.

The second case, filed on Monday at the Constitutional Court, has been brought forward by human rights activist Nixon Nyikadzino who claims his rights and the rights of other Zimbabweans will be violated if elections are held before July 31st.

Nyikadzino told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that before an election can take place, the conditions must be such that Zimbabweans' human rights will be protected. He said that there has not been enough progress in ensuring this is possible yet.

"As a human rights defender, I have been a victim of torture, harassment, arrests and so on... If the election is held before July 31st I feel I will not be able to exercise my right to vote freely," Nyikadzino said.

He added: "What the Constitutional Court ruled was to protect the rights of one individual. But in doing so they have ignored the rights of many."

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) meanwhile has lashed out at the state media for what they say is a "continuation of the sustained and unrelenting attack against the legal profession in Zimbabwe." The lawyers were responding to a Herald article about the fresh legal challenges filed against the Constitutional Court ruling, which accused lawyers of being involved in planning "frivolous and vexatious" cases.

The article lists some of Zimbabwe's top human rights lawyers by name and, according to the group's spokesman, Kumbirai Mafunda, said this is a clear attack on the legal profession.

"We have sought a right of reply, because we feel the Herald article is in breach of professional legal ethics. We believe they are trying to soil the image of the ZLHR," Mafunda said.
Click to expand...

TL;DR: One guy forced the ConCourt to force Bob to call an election by the 31st of July.

Weird, really weird.
 
OrbitalDawn said:
Yeah. Problem is it's in Mugabe's favour. He wanted it to be an early election. It's the opposition who wanted time to implement security reforms before the election.
Click to expand...

True, MDC has been set up for failure again. Even if there were no dirty tricks by ZANU-PF, they would not be able to campaign effectively in the rural areas where ZANU-PF still commands support IMO
 
sox63 said:
True, MDC has been set up for failure again. Even if there were no dirty tricks by ZANU-PF, they would not be able to campaign effectively in the rural areas where ZANU-PF still commands support IMO
Click to expand...

But at least they would have a fair chance of campaigning everywhere. Even the new constitution is pretty useless without security reforms.
 
sox63 said:
True, MDC has been set up for failure again. Even if there were no dirty tricks by ZANU-PF, they would not be able to campaign effectively in the rural areas where ZANU-PF still commands support IMO
Click to expand...

Zanu-PF love having their thugs do their dirty work for them. Then they just say 'but we didn't do anything' while people are intimidated or killed. Really hope it's not another violent election.
 
Mugabe Poll Call is illegal

Lawyers' groups in Zimbabwe say a unilateral call for end of July polls by the country's president is illegal and he could be forced to overturn it at an upcoming regional meeting.

Veritas, an independent legal research group, said Friday that President Robert Mugabe has no power under the country's constitution to call for elections without the approval of government ministers.

Mugabe, in a coalition government with former opposition leader Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai after violent and disputed elections in 2008, set polls for July 31 arguing he is obeying a May court ruling.

Tsvangirai claims Mugabe needs his consent on when to hold elections.

The group said Mugabe could come under pressure from the regional leaders to rescind his decision at a meeting scheduled Saturday in Maputo, Mozambique.


Source : Sapa-AP /aw/hdw/rod/jje
Date : 14 Jun 2013 16:02 OrigID : LC747707
 
Mugabe may yet hold vote without reforms: Analysts

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe appears to have caved in to regional pressure to delay key elections, but analysts warn the veteran ruler could yet forge ahead with the polls without making key reforms.

Last week Mugabe swept aside considerable opposition, mustered all the powers of the presidency and declared Zimbabwe's elections will be held July 31.

In doing so he plunged the country into a fresh political crisis, with long-time rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai vowing to veto any unilaterally declared poll date.

But within a week Mugabe was looking less than omnipotent.

Southern African leaders -- fearing Mugabe was hurtling Zimbabwe toward another flawed election, yet more violence and another political and economic meltdown -- stepped in.

In an unusual public rebuke of their old comrade, leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) demanded Mugabe push back the election date.

SADC leaders said time must be given to introduce reforms that would make the elections free and fair, or at least allow a vote that would not derail their own plan to stabilise Zimbabwe, which has been half a decade in the making.

Dumisani Nkomo, a Bulawayo-based independent political analyst said Mugabe got the message loud and clear.

"Mugabe is under pressure to ensure elections which will be credible and acceptable to SADC," Nkomo said.

"This means if Mugabe decides to go ahead with the elections on July 31, the results won't be accepted by SADC."

But many observers see Mugabe's request to the constitutional court for a two-week delay until August 14 as necessary, but not sufficient to ensure a fair vote.

"There is no guarantee that the two weeks will be granted by the court," said Takavafira Zhou, a political scientist at Masvingo State University.

Rights groups and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have already accused the government of lodging an application to the consitutional court that was intended to fail.

"The application is incompletely done and is shoddy," Douglas Mwonzora, spokesman for the MDC told AFP.

Lovemore Madhuku, a constitutional law expert at the University of Zimbabwe, said prospects of the court granting an extension were slim.

"The elections will still be held on July 31. It's highly unlikely that the constitutional court will change its position."

Even if Mugabe's request is approved, it only calls for a two week delay.

Tsvangirai's key reforms include difficult tasks like ridding the security services of politicised chiefs aligned to Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.

He has also called for revamping media laws: to allow independent radio stations to operate, curb the abuse of defamation laws and stop state media from producing anti-opposition propaganda.

The reforms would also rid the electorial roll of ghost voters.

"Even if the court were to grant the extension, I don't foresee any reforms being implemented in two weeks. For me this whole thing is a window-dressing act," said Zhou.

Trust Manda, a member of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), agreed.

"It must not just be a legal change, but (the) law must be implemented on the ground, and 14 days is not enough for that."

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change has conceded that a in any case a two week-delay would do little to change deeply-ingrained attitudes.

The SADC's response may yet prove critical.

Independent political analyst Charles Mangongera said SADC's unusually tough stance showed that the regional body may not accept another disputed poll in Zimbabwe.

"The SADC resolution has demonstrated that SADC will not tolerate Mugabe's unilateralism," Mangongera said.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mv
Date : 21 Jun 2013 05:03
 
Zimbabwe PM files for Poll Delay

Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has filed an application with the country's top court for a delay of elections to allow key reforms to take effect, court papers showed.

Tsvangirai wants the Constitutional Court to nullify a decree by President Robert Mugabe for polls to be held on July 31.

Mugabe had already, on June 19, asked the same court that Tsvangirai has approached, to push back crucial elections by two weeks to August 14.

But Tsvangirai, who did not specify when he wants the new elections held, has already said the two week extension that Mugabe sought is not enough.

Mugabe rushed to court in June, following pressure from regional leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc to shift the dates.

If Tsvangirai wins his case, he said the court will "prevent a legitimacy deficit which would plunge the country into further uncertainty", he said in court papers.

"Zimbabwe needs a break from the past," he said.

"There have been electoral disputes since 2000 where outcomes have been contested largely because of the legal and political environment in which the elections are held.

"If granted, I genuinely believe that Zimbabwe will have a lasting, credible, free, fair, and legitimate election whose outcome is not contested."

Tsvangirai, who won the most ballots in the first round of the 2008 elections, said new elections should only be held after electoral laws reforms brought about by the new constitution, are implemented.

Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe's electoral commission should ensure a 30-day voter registration and inspection blitz before Mugabe announces new dates. Frustrating delays at voter registration centres has seen prospective voters waiting for hours in long queues.

In setting the original election date, Mugabe had said he was complying with the constitutional court's ruling to hold elections by July 31.

The elections will choose a successor to the uncomfortable power-sharing government, which was forged four years ago as a path away from a decade of political violence.

Tsvangirai has called for reforms -- to free the media, depoliticise the security services and make sure the electoral roll is accurate -- if the vote is to be credible.

Leaders from the SADC bloc meeting in Maputo two weeks ago issued an unusual rebuke of Mugabe, asking that he go back to the court and seek a delay.

They urged him to "create a conducive environment for the holding of peaceful, credible, free and fair elections".


Source : Sapa-AFP /pk/jk/clh
Date : 25 Jun 2013 11:34
 
"Zimbabwe needs a break from the past," he said.
Click to expand...

Whahaha .. getting rid of all the white people not working out as well as you thought?
Prime example of an Africa government - chaos!
 
Mugabe's south african head cheerleader & pom-pom girl, Dali Tambo is probably doing celebratory high kicks in jubilation.
 
Amnesty warns of crackdown activists ahead of Zim elections

Zimbabwe's upcoming general elections will take place amid a crackdown by the state on human rights activists and opposition supporters, Amnesty International warned in a report released Friday.

The London-based human rights group said in the 36-page report, Walk the Talk, that there is a "systematic clampdown" on free speech and the right to assemble.

While violence in the run-up to the July 31 poll has been lower than in previous election cycles, campaigners for a free vote are being jailed while their offices are raided by police and equipment confiscated.

Elections in 2008 descended into widespread violence largely targeting the opposition. Some 200 people were killed across the southern African nation, thousands were arrested and many tortured.

The security forces are still widely believed to be controlled by President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. The 89-year-old Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, will again contend for the country's top office.

"The clampdown on the work of human rights defenders is a worrying indicator that government agencies remain actively hostile to civil society," said Noel Kututwa, Amnesty's Africa deputy programme director.

"Zimbabwe's security forces must respect and protect fundamental freedoms as the country prepares for a high-stakes election," said Kututwa.

Police officials deny allegations of being partisan.

Andrew Phiri, the national police spokesman, told dpa: "We do not condone any member of us violating any human rights."

He added: "We would investigate that if we have a name, a date and place where the violations took place. But in this report there is nothing tangible."

The report details several specific cases of crackdowns. Since November 2012, at least five police raids of offices of non-government organizations have been conducted and dozens of human rights defenders detained, often in what appear to be violations of local and international law.

In one recent instance, members of the Youth Initiative for Democracy in Zimbabwe were harassed for simply "conducting voter education without authority from Zimbabwe Electoral Commission." They were detained and a trial is expected to start in August.

Though the prosecution of human rights defenders does not necessarily result in convictions, they effectively paralyse the organizations through regular court appearances of the leaders and draining their finances.

Moreover, the arrests generate a climate of fear, especially given the history of political violence in the country.

"The stakes are high in this election and the run-up to it cannot simply be treated as business as usual, either by stakeholders in Zimbabwe or by the international community," said Kututwa.

Zimbabwe recently passed a new constitution, paving the way for elections this year. Amnesty said the government "must walk the talk and honour the commitments enshrined in it and protect the fundamental freedoms of its citizens."Authors: Columbus Mavhunga, Shabtai Gold


Source : Sapa-dpa /gm
Date : 12 Jul 2013 02:04

Alt Source: http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2...of-crackdown-activists-ahead-of-zim-elections
 
AU Monitor Leader in Zim Named

Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo will lead a team of 60 African Union monitors to Zimbabwe for the July 31 election, the organisation said Friday.

Obasanjo will arrive in Zimbabwe 10 days before the vote, which has already been overshadowed by allegations of political intimidation and electoral rolls packed with "ghost voters".

In a statement, the AU said the monitors -- drawn from African NGOs and member countries -- will work with nine observers already on the ground.

Obasanjo has twice ruled Nigeria.

A former soldier, he headed a military government between 1976 and 1979 and served an eight-year term as an elected president between May 1999 and May 2007.

President Robert Mugabe has opposed the entry of non-African observers to monitor the election, which will see the long-term leader try to extend his 33-year term.

Rights groups have expressed concern that the vote will see a repeat of vote rigging and violence that has marred previous polls.

Amnesty International on Friday called on regional bodies to "meticulously document human rights violations, in particular those committed by government agencies".

Zimbabwe's security forces, controlled by President Robert Mugabe, 89, have in the past been accused of rights abuses and intimidating political opponents.

At least 200 people were killed in the run-up to the June 2008 presidential run-off between Mugabe and his arch rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai will again be Mugabe's opponent on July 31.


Source : Sapa-AFP /pd/hdw/clh
Date : 12 Jul 2013 17:09
 
EU to lift Zimbabwe Sanctions if Vote Fair: Ambassador

The European Union will lift sanctions against Zimbabwe if regional observers declare July 31 polls to be free and fair, the bloc's ambassador to South Africa said Friday.

"If the process goes well we will go suspend (sanctions) and I am sure they will be removed," diplomat Roeland van de Geer said.

"We don't have the right to continue with that if the elections are acceptable," he added.

The EU earlier this year retained an asset freeze and travel ban on President Robert Mugabe but eased most of its decade-old restrictions on Zimbabwe.

"We have suspended them, we haven't cancelled them, and we have done that with conviction because we see positive steps," said Van de Geer.

While some steps have been encouraging, the bloc wants greater reforms in the media and army.

Blocked by Mugabe, the EU will not have its own observers on the ground but will rely on the Southern African Development Community which mediated Zimbabwe's power-sharing government after chaotic 2008 polls.

"If the outcome of the elections is clear, is accepted, who are we, all Europeans, to say... we continue with our sanctions, but it has to be clear, that's true," he said.

Only 10 individuals and two companies are now blacklisted -- whittled down from a list of 112 people and 11 firms or entities earlier this year.

A team of African Union observers will also monitor the vote to replace the compromise government set up between Mugabe and his arch rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

The EU's targeted sanctions were first imposed in 2002, with the grouping citing political violence, human rights abuses and the failure to hold free and fair elections.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mm/aa
Date : 12 Jul 2013 18:57
 
Early Vote Marred by Delays

Zimbabwe security forces voted Sunday in an early election marred by delays over lack of ballot papers, some two weeks before crucial presidential polls.

Scores of uniformed police officers waited outside polling stations after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) failed to deliver voting material which was still being printed.

"This is the clearest manifestation of lack of readiness on the part of ZEC to conduct a credible poll," said Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement of Democratic Change (MDC).

"As a party we are concerned that if ZEC cannot manage 209 centres for this special vote, how will they manage over ten thousand polling stations on 31 July 2013?"

According to the country's electoral body, about 87,000 people, largely from the police service which will be on duty on election day, had applied to vote on Sunday and Monday.

Only 6,092 ballot papers had been distributed by Sunday's polling, ZEC deputy chairperson Joyce Kazembe told a press conference in the late afternoon.

Kazembe blamed the slow start to voting on printing delays which she said were "even beyond our expectation".

Ballot papers were still being printed, she said.

An AFP reporter witnessed voting underway at only two of four vote stations visited.

Hundreds of uniformed police officers waited dejectedly at one site as late as 4:00 pm for their names to be called out to cast ballots under the watch of regional monitors.

Some were turned away as their ballot papers had not arrived.

At another polling station in the capital, no ballots were being cast at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) as there were no vote papers.

The month-end crunch vote will replace the uneasy unity government between rivals President Robert Mugabe, 89, and Tsvangirai, 61, that was forced by chaotic 2008 polls.

Twitter users expressed their concerns that Sunday's showing was a foretaste of what is to come.

"If today's #ZEC system failure is anything to go by, on 31 July there'll be irreparable organ failure," tweeted one person.

Another user said: "this is just an insight of what July 31 will be like... #ZEC cant handle 87000 voters wat of the 6mil."

But Kazembe said the ZEC will be ready.

"Let me assure you by the end of next week all the ballot papers would have been prepared. We promise the nation that we will be ready," she said.

A live report on the website of the state-controlled The Sunday Mail outlined voting material -- from ballot boxes and the voters' roll to ink -- failing to arrive at different sites across the country.

One station had only taken delivery of just 14 ballot papers, while another had only one paper.

The ZEC said voting was taking place in nine of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces, but no figures were given of how many of the 209 vote stations were operational.

The July 31 date was set by Mugabe and a court later ruled that it would go ahead despite the veteran leader asking for a two-week delay after a regional bloc pushed for more time.

Tsvangirai, who accuses Mugabe and his allies of failing to implement promised reforms, had wanted an even longer extension.

The High Court in Harare will on Monday hear a court challenge from the MDC over the special poll's voters roll which they claim is inflated.

The party is seeking "to nullify the voting process today and tomorrow," lawyer Harrison Nkomo told AFP.

Tsvangirai won the first round of the 2008 presidential vote, but pulled out of a run-off amid violence against his supporters.

Some 200 opposition activists were killed around those polls.

In previous elections, security forces voted in barracks and police camps unobserved.

Security chiefs have openly showed support to Mugabe of the ZANU-PF party and have blasted Tsvangirai as a stooge of the West.

The security forces, which fall under Mugabe's control, have in the past been accused of rights abuses and intimidating political opponents.


Source : Sapa-AFP /sdv/mr
Date : 14 Jul 2013 19:54
 
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