We, civil society organizations acting on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe, today reassert our commitment to the struggle for a transition to democracy.  In doing so, we stand firmly by the principles of democratic constitutionalism that are embodied in the People's Charter and which represent the birthright of every Zimbabwean.  

Given the present environment of fear and oppression, we declare that democratic reform must be preceded by the cessation of violence, restoration of law and order, and facilitation of humanitarian relief.  If such conditions are met, we are prepared to support the installation of a transitional government created after consultation with all stakeholders.

We believe that a transitional government would provide an appropriate vehicle for ushering democratic reform.  The transitional authority would have a specific, limited mandate to oversee the drafting of a new, democratic and people-driven constitution and the installation of a legitimate government.  We wholeheartedly reject the suggestion of a power-sharing agreement that fails to immediately address the inadequacy of the current constitutional regime.

The transitional government must be established in line with the following:

1. Leadership by a neutral body.  The transitional government should be headed by an individual who is not a member of ZANU-PF or MDC.

2. Broad representation.  Individuals from a broad sector of Zimbabwean society should be incorporated into the transitional government.  This should include representatives from labor organizations, women's and children's rights groups, churches, and various other interest groups.

3. Specific, limited mandate.  The transitional government should be tasked with facilitating the drafting and adoption of a new constitution and then holding elections under the new constitutional framework. It should only govern the country until such time as the government elected under the new constitution is installed.  The negotiating parties should provide a very clear timeframe for this process, with no more than 18 months of rule by the transitional government.

4. People-driven constitutional development.  The process of drafting a new constitution must include broad-based consultation with the public.  Interest groups such as women, labor, churches, and media should be given special opportunities to provide input.  The draft constitution should not be enacted until it has been ratified by the public in a national referendum.

5. Restoration of good governance.  State institutions such as the judiciary, police, security services, and state welfare agencies should be depoliticized and reformed.  Steps should be taken to fight corruption and promote accountability for public officials. Restrictions on press freedom should be lifted and access to state media outlets should be opened.

6. Transitional justice initiatives.  The transitional government should design and implement a system to bring to justice the perpetrators of gross human rights violations.  This framework for transitional justice should be embedded in the new constitution. In the event of the above conditions not being met, civil society commits itself to continue in actions that increase pressure on whosoever will be holding state power to embrace people-centered democratic process.

*This press statement was issued by civil society following the national civil society consultative meeting.

*Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/359/47086SADC.jpgInordinate delay in announcing results is of grave concern to civil society:

We the undersigned Civil Society groups whose names are listed below have found it necessary to send this urgent petition to your Excellences in order to save our country from potentially sinking into complete anarchy if election results are manipulated.

On 29th March, 2008 the people of Zimbabwe voted for the national president, members of parliament and councillors.

The elections took place against the background of a serious political and economic crisis in the country, which has lasted for a decade. After brazen use of organized violence and torture of political opponents as Zimbabwe approached the 2008 election year, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) facilitated negotiations between the government and the opposition to end Zimbabwe 's crisis so that Zimbabweans can once again live in dignity.

President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa who was mandated by SADC to lead the dialogue stated clearly that his aspiration was that the March 2008 elections needed to be held in circumstances where the outcome of such elections would not be contestable. Even though the negotiations collapsed before reaching their final conclusion, there were some changes in the electoral laws that resulted in visible changes on the ground in terms of the election management process as follows:

1. The accreditation of journalists was smoother and earlier than in previous elections even though the government erred in being selective on whom it invited to observe.  

2. There were less queues at polling stations and it looked like the majority of those who wanted to vote and whose names were on the voter's roll managed to vote without undue delays or major hassles.

3. The general environment inside the polling station and around the polling station was not hostile unlike in previous elections where cases of harassment of local observers were reported. In this election there have been few reports of intimidation or harassment of human rights defenders during the election day and the period immediately after.  

4. The counting and posting of results at the polling stations for all to see was very well received and ordinary people could be seen in numbers studying the results posted at the polling stations.

There were however some areas of concern as well. These will be enumerated in due course as various organizations do their individual and collective election reports as necessary. However the biggest concern that has emerged is the inordinate delay in the announcing of the election results. The counting was done immediately after the polls were shut generally around 7 pm on 28 March 2008 at the polling stations. The results were posted at the polling stations immediately and there is significant concern at the failure of the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) to announce these results more than 36 hours after the voting stopped. There seems to be absolutely no justification for this delay and the tokenistic announcement of results for 109 contested positions by 8am on 1 April 2008 is wholly inadequate.

We as Civil Society are concerned by the failure to announce the results timeously. This creates a founded suspicion in the minds of Zimbabweans that the authorities are trying to manipulate the results in order to get their preferred party candidates to win. This is especially so given that the opposition has already been expressing public concern at what they saw as measures that were being taken to manipulate the vote and rig the elections.

This delay, if it persist will result in the real likelihood of the outcome of the elections being contested and in the process undermining what ever small gains may have arisen from the SADC efforts. We are naturally gravely concerned that any contestation of the outcome of the elections is also likely to lead to escalation of conflict. With the weak rule of law environment that has been well documented before, the elections may trigger serious and potentially widespread violations of human rights in Zimbabwe .

We are aware that the Zimbabwean government has already deployed police, army and intelligence units into the major cities in anticipation of potential trouble. Of significant concern are the unconfirmed rumours that allegedly from the security branches of government that the incumbent is preparing to declare a state of emergency after announcing inaccurate results. This is consistent with the threats by the security chiefs before the elections that they are not prepared to accept the election results if President Mugabe and ZANU PF lose the elections.

We the Civil Society Organisations from Zimbabwe therefore implore the SADC and AU heads of State and Government to urgently

1. Exert the necessary diplomatic pressure to force President Mugabe to ensure that the elections are as free and fair as possible.  

2. Demand that President Mugabe and his government should allow the elections results to be released immediately without being tampered with.  

3. Exert the necessary diplomatic pressure to President Mugabe not to declare a state of emergency.  

4. Apply pressure on the military and intelligence in Zimbabwe not to manipulate the elections results and to accept the peoples verdict in the elections  

5. Call for SADC in conjunction with other international and domestic observers to investigate allegations of fraud, so that the ZEC announced results may be       correlated with independent tabulation processes.  

6. That SADC together with the African Union should be prepared to urgently engage in a process to assist in resolving any dispute that may arise if the results of the elections are seriously contested - particularly since the domestic electoral courts process is itself not seen as legitimate by all but the ruling party.

Dated this 1 April 2008 by the undersigned Civil Society Organisations

1. CRISIS COALITION ZIMBABWE   2. ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS   3. ZIMBABWE NATIONAL STUDENTS UNION   4. ZIMRIGHTS   5. MANICALAND LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ASSOCIATION.   6. CHURCHES IN MANICALAND   7. ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM   8. ZIMBABWE CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONS   9. NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY  10. THE SAVE ZIMBABWE CAMPAIGN  11. PROGRESSIVE TEACHERS UNION OF ZIMBABWE  12. STUDENTS SOLIDARITY TRUST  13. COMBINED HARARE RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION  14. ZIMBABWE STUDENTS CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT  15. ZIMBABWE COALITION ON DEBT AND DEVELOPMENT  16. MEDIA INSTITUTE OF SOUTHERN AFRICA ( ZIMBABWE CHAPTER)  17. MEDIA MONITORING PROJECT ZIMBABWE  18. YOUTH INITIATIVE FOR DEMOCRACY IN ZIMBABWE