ZIMBABWE is not ready to hold free and fair elections this year as there is little space for opposition politics in the country, the Institute for Democracy in Southern Africa (Idasa) has said.
Report by Moses Matenga
The regional think-tank also accused the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) of failing to fulfil its mandate to stop the Zanu PF dominance and the structures responsible for the 2008 bloody campaign.
In a research paper titled Ready or not? Elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe 2013, Idasa said the country’s playing field was not level.
The report comes at a time Zimbabwe is expected to hold a constitutional referendum on March 16 and to go for polls later this year.
Apart from pointing the finger at Zanu PF, the research also blamed the MDC parties for failing to make good use of their parliamentary majority to push for reforms.
Idasa is an independent public interest organisation that strives to build sustainable democratic societies in collaboration with African and global partners.
“There is little space for opposition politics and therefore inadequate oversight . . . In Zimbabwe, Zanu PF continues to dominate the political arena. In both cases, the use of State resources for personal and party gain is common. For this reason, no level playing field has been created in either country (Zimbabwe and Kenya) for fair elections to take place,” the report read.
“In contrast (with Kenya), the Zimbabwean process is incomplete and highly politicised. In addition, the draft that has been released does not address contentious issues adequately such as dilution of presidential powers and devolution. In both cases, repressive legislation remains in the statutes.
“This situation is exacerbated by a lack of enforcement of the GPA (Global Political Agreement) reforms by the Sadc mediators. It is also considered a shortcoming of the MDC formations that, despite holding a majority in Parliament, they have not pursued possibilities for legislative reform vigorously.”
The report bemoaned the presence of perpetrators of violence in influential positions in both Zimbabwe and Kenya.
“ . . . Those who committed the crimes are often still in power, which leads to them blocking any actions aimed at addressing the violations. For this reason, there is a grave potential in both
countries for renewed electoral violence.”
Pedzisayi Ruhanya, a local analyst, predicted a “bloody” election worse than the 2008 presidential runoff, saying: “It will be terror and psychological warfare or harvest of fear. There will be incidents of terror and this time well-coordinated by Zanu PF and security operators.”
Stating the obvious!
Gukurahundis will only seize this terror when they die, let them do it within their Gukurahundi provinces not Mthwakazi
Zimbabwe must address what happens before , during and after elections.We are interested to know the contents of the Code of Conduct for political parties, candidates and other persons who will be participating before election Day.What happens to a candidate who preaches violence or uses hate language before the elections.If someone feels he or she has been intimidated what course of action does one need to take?What happens to the results in that constituency?What is the time frame for announcing the results? Stating that ” the results of the election or referendum are announced as soon as possible after the close of the polls ” is not good enough.How soon is soon? Is it 2hrs , 24hrs , 48 hrs or one week? Answers to these questions will indicate whether the country is ready for elections or not.
You may as well continue your trend of thought that Africans are not ready for independence,they cannot rule themselves,they are not ready to own their countries,they are not ready to be farmers,they are incapable of deveping their resources and should not decide alone when to hold elections.And all this self immolation is no longer coming from our ertwhile colonialists but from fellow africans.Perhaps,we need to return and allow our masters to rule us for another 500 years and reduce us to chattel slaves again to satisfy your western view of Africa for our sakes.
Thanks Ghananian for a good comment. However that is the thinking in most western sponsored NGOs like the one referred to. They always want to parrot their master’s voice. They use their buttocks for thinking and are full of an inferiority complex. Ndivo vataiti madzakutsaku during the Rhodesian era. The type of pipo who use to lick the white men’s ass hole in order to get supper. There are numerous remnants in NGOs in mordern Zim today
maCIO what else can u say,u’re singing for ur supper,as for some of us its not yet Uhuru,look at zbc,idiot!
Zimbabwe be never a good country without a war . A war can solve better