CHENGETAI ZVAUYA
Political will to overhaul the country’s electoral field will become the acid test for the government in addressing the over-arching electoral reforms which international election observers raised after Zimbabwe held a largely peaceful yet contested elections on July 30.
Zanu PF won a two-thirds majority in the House of Assembly while incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa garnered 50,6 percent of the ballot, a figure his main rival, Nelson Chamisa, contested. Chamisa himself won 44,3 percent of the vote and approached the Constitutional Court, challenging the outcome of the presidential election. But he lost the historic case.
In its post-election report, the European Union Election Observation Mission advised the government to adopt a raft of measures, which could help Zimbabwean elections match international standards.
The EU, which last observed local elections nearly two decades ago, said while the July 30 elections were held in a peaceful environment, “a truly level-playing field was not achieved”. According to the EU: “The elections were competitive, the campaign was largely peaceful and, overall, political freedoms during the campaign, including freedom of movement, assembly and speech, were respected.
However, the misuse of state resources, instances of coercion and intimidation, partisan behaviour by traditional leaders and overt bias in state media, all in favour of the ruling party, meant that a truly level playing field was not achieved, which negatively impacted on the democratic character of the electoral environment.”
Analysts say the government has the capacity to implement the EU recommendations to level the electoral field ahead of the next elections in 2023, but more political will is needed to push the reforms through. The EU recommendations address key areas that include the legal framework, political background, election administration, voter registration, registration of political parties and candidates, election campaign, and the pre-election environment.
The recommendations also cover international and domestic election observation, media and elections, the participation of women, the participation of persons with disability, polling, counting and collation including postal voting, election results, electoral disputes, and the independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
It said ZEC has to develop its results management process to enhance verifiability and traceability so that it provides more effective and timely information during the election process.
The mission also proposed to help create a more level playing field and a more conducive environment for the polls through helping in monitoring the implementation of the recommendations.
According to the political analyst Lawrence Mhandara: “These recom- mendations are easy to implement as Zanu PF has a majority in Parliament and can push through any amendments it wants, but the problem is that MDC and EU seem to be on the same side in their analyses of the political situation. “One of the key recommendations is that Parliament must play its role in making laws and this can be implemented too.
“For example, the government has indicated that it wants a comprehensive legal reform of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Broadcasting Services Act, the Public Order and Security Act, and the Criminal Law Act.
This can easily be done to harmonise current media regulations with the constitution, in order to adequately safeguard freedom of expression. Indications are that the amendments will soon be brought to Parliament.”
The EU recommended that the state-owned media must be impartial in its coverage, and legal measures should be introduced to mitigate abuse of state resources. It said campaign finance regulations should be introduced to enhance accountability, while appropriate time limits for the determination of pre-election disputes should be established.
The recommendations are part of the key terms for Zimbabwe’s re-engagement with the EU. The country has to fulfil these terms to be considered for any bilateral discussions and to benefit financially.
According to Eldred Masunungure, a political scientist, the implementation of the recommendations is a process, not an event, which can be done in Parliament before the next elections.
“The key to the implementation of the recommendations is for the political parties in Parliament to bring the laws to Parliament to be amended,” Masunungure says. “This should be one of the major items that the political parties should be pushing in Parliament and bringing in the required reforms.
“For example, on the political parties and campaign environment, legislative measures should be introduced to mitigate abuse of state resources such as the use of government vehicles, property and funds and the involvement of public officials in political activities.
“This will guarantee the free expression of the will of the people, and help create a more level playing field. This can be done through new provisions in the Electoral Act in Parliament.”
Mark Steven, the EU’s deputy chief election observer, said his organisation was going to monitor the implementation of the recommendations by the government, and welcomed the Commission of Inquiry set by President Mnangagwa to probe the post-election violence in Harare on August 1 during which 6 people were shot dead by soldiers. The commission is chaired by former South Africa president, Kgalema Motlanthe, and has already started its work. Stevens said the arrests of opposition politicians and raids of opposition offices and the confiscation of computers immediately after the elections were also means to weaken the opposition.
“We encourage political dialogue to start in Parliament amongst the parties to make the democratic change. The political environment is still polarised but we encourage dialogue in the country,” Stevens added. He said the EU observer mission could not endorse the elections because of the post-election violence. “The election falls short of international standards because of the post-election violence on August 1, but prior to the incident the campaign and electoral environment was peaceful,” said Stevens.
“The tragic deaths of protestors on August 1 was a result of excessive use of force by security forces, and the subsequent abuses of human and political rights of members of the opposition further marred the perception of the electoral context.
