Among the complex questions in Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem's Pan-African Postcard WHAT KIND OF POLITICAL CHANGE? one has a clear answer [http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/47413].

He asks: "Is it not clear that they (Zanu-pf & Mugabe) are preparing for the rerun while the opposition is shuttling between the court and diplomatic capitals? I am not quite sure if the MDC will achieve anything by choosing this course. Why can't they just go for the rerun and humiliate the Old man?"

Answer: Yes, it's clear. Zanu-pf, Mugabe and the military are preparing for a 're-run' because they are the only ones who know there will be
a re-run AFTER the recount. They have now had 2 weeks to doctor the ballot boxes to suit that purpose. The MDC wants the existing results from the

polling stations to be announced first so everyone will have confirmed what they know already which is that Tsvangirai won the Presidency.

The Reason the MDC don't want a run-off or a re-run is bcause: (a) they won and (b) brutal violence will be used by Mugabe and co. in their 'campaign' to 'win' the re-run. This is already happening. See reports of violent retribution of MDC voters in areas where Zanu-pf lost their previous stranglehold (Reports by Zimbabwe Peace Project, Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights etc.)

Why do we need to constantly prove and re-prove to the world that Mugabe uses violence? Haven't we already seen it? Why do people defend him by denying it? Why do citizens have to be beaten into a pulp - again? On 29 March they peacefully used their civil right to chose their president. What gives Mugabe and the military the right to deny the people the results of that vote and demand a re-run?

As Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem's advisor Thomas Deve says:" the opposition may
be more vulnerable than everyone is predicting if there is a run off." That is: Vulnerable to being beaten with sticks and stones, bloodied and tortured,

hands broken so they cannot write the X on the ballot paper even if they dare to come out to vote! How many times do people have to vote before their voices are respected?

Change is hard to accept, but Pan-Africanists especially need to clear away old 'treasures' that have gone wrong, to see and acknowledge reality before too many more people have died.

Farai Kashiri

It’s been more than two weeks since Zimbabweans went to the polls to elect a legislature and President. But instead of the outcome of the elections, Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party led by President Robert Mugabe has delivered harsh crackdowns and stonewalling to the electorate.

Defeat can be hard to accept, “but at the very least, the people of Zimbabwe have the right to know the result of their vote,” says the Executive Director of ARTICLE19, Dr. Agnes Callamard. The government of Zimbabwe is obligated under the International law “to conduct an election and to let the people know those they’ve chosen to lead them.”

ARTICLE 19 urges Zimbabwe’s government to heed the calls of Zimbabweans, the 2008 first extra-ordinary SADC summit of Heads of State and Government, and the international community “to comply with the rule of law and SADC Principles and Guidelines governing democratic elections.”

It is in the interest of Zimbabwe and the southern African region that President Mugabe adheres to electoral procedures as set out in Zimbabwe’s electoral law and release the result of the election immediately. “In the event that a run-off is needed, that must also be conducted according to accepted norms and standards.” ARTICLE19 strongly urges Zimbabwean authorities to back away from chaos and violence and move towards reason and the rule of law in settling the outcome of this election.

*ARTICLE 19 is an independent human rights organisation that works globally to protect and promote the right to freedom of expression. It takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees free speech.

ARTICLE 19 (www.article19.org) is an international human rights organisation which defends and promotes freedom of expression and freedom of information all over the world. It takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Kenyan civil society for their solidarity [Kenyans call and solidarity with Zimbabwe, Indeed Zimbabwe is too big to be left to Zimbabweans alone and all people world over have the duty to at least denounce the evil and ensure the good triumphs.Your words of solidarity and encouragement is a source of hope and strength to most activists in Zimbabwe.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/362/47412violence.jpgSam Kabele looks at the fault lines along which violence in Zimbabwe is traveling and calls for solidarity the Zimbabwean people

At the time of writing President Mugabe is refusing to engage with his reasonably supine fellow southern African leaders, concerned about the crisis and lack of declared results from the presidential elections. Instead he has chosen the path he knows best, that of formal and informal state-inspired violence with reports coming in especially in Manicaland of targeted intimidation and beatings of opposition activists, especially in areas that swung to MDC. The votes in the parliamentary elections went so overwhelming for the opposition that the government was unable to fix that election and we thus had a historic victory for the Movement for Democratic Change. It seems clear the ruling ZANU-PF party are desperately trying to avoid a similar meltdown in the presidential ones. So, unsurprisingly, Zimbabwe’s High Court refused to rule on the MDC’s urgent application for release of the presidential election results on April 14. 

As President Mugabe opts for the path he knows best, that of formal and informal state-inspired violence, it is worth asking how we even reached the stage where the opposition was allowed to win the parliamentary elections and where the usual violence and intimidation appear not to have paid off. Were the ruling party over-confident and the rest of us, expecting the usual stolen election, too dismissive of the effect of the crisis on ordinary Zimbabweans – urban and rural? Of course in any normal situation, hyperinflation signals an end to any ruling government, but Zimbabwean ‘normality’ has been different since 2000, and arguably before that. Given the normal retaliation that ZANU-PF unleashes when it is threatened as in 2000 after the referendum (farm invasions etc) and Operation Murambatsvina after 2005, there is a second and probably more important question. Who is willing and able to stop a descent into repression and violence? And, thirdly, who in Zimbabwe and the region has the strategic vision to change this? Is there still the possibility of a peaceful transition (even if not a transformation as such)? 

The ZANU-PF government has largely appeared impervious to international pressure to reverse repression and its economic policies. Zimbabwe has few close allies, after leaving the Commonwealth, having been near to expulsion from the International Monetary Fund (perhaps the only possibly advantageous element), its policies criticised by the UN and some African institutions like the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, and with its elite subject to ‘smart’ sanctions from the EU, Switzerland, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It has retained some African, Chinese and some Third World state and popular support by astute playing of the ‘anti-imperialist card’.   Is, however, the southern African region now sufficiently worried to push harder for real change after the (unadmitted) failure of their negotiation process and the obvious gerrymandering of the ‘harmonised elections’?

CAN ZIMBABWEANS CONTINUE THE MOMENTUM OF THEIR MASSIVE REJECTION OF ZANU-PF?

Whilst the results dribbled out, the courts are largely supine and the counter-offensive starts. After the failure of the negotiation process and the obvious gerrymandering of the ‘harmonised elections’ perhaps the real question is whether their self-interest in a reformed ZANU-PF without Mugabe is likely to continue? With the exception of South Africa’s ANC president Jacob Zuma - who called for the election results to be declared after meeting Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai - the region has been largely silent. It has, however, after its weekend summit issued a lame statement calling for the election results to be ‘expeditiously’ declared and for the parties to contest any run-off. This is despite evidence of increased intimidation and violence and strong opposition from regional civil society.

The only path appears to be people power, but is the fearful population, committed peaceful forms, subject to eight years of intimidation, and having to engage in every possible strategy for mere survival able to sustain this? Recent general strikes such as the one called for from 15th April cannot really be anything other than staying at home since only 8% of Zimbabweans are actually employed. 

It has been argued that in any transition Zimbabwe should be characterised as a post-conflict state since it exhibits many characteristics of a society in violent conflict due to the scale of economic collapse and casualisation, political violence and social trauma, the breakdown of basic services (although the party structure of ZANU-PF remains intact), mass flight of people and capital. Zimbabwe currently has the highest rate of inflation in the world, with an annual rate of over 100,000%.

1. Wages have plummeted as the cost of necessities spirals out of control.  About 80% of the country’s population lives in poverty, while about 3 million people have left the country in search of work.

2. Failed agricultural policies have meant widespread food shortages of food with this year’s harvest predicted to be one of the lowest on record.

3. Agriculture was the motor of the pre-crisis economy, but is massively depleted in production and export. Zimbabwe once a food exporter (in good years) is now food insecure with up to half the population reliant on food aid.

4. The above is particularly worrying given the generalised HIV and AIDS pandemic and life expectancy being the lowest in the world at 34 years for men and 33 years for women.

5. The humanitarian crisis is exacerbated by government food distribution being manipulated to secure votes.

6. Demands for change emanating from civil society have been routinely suppressed by the state, including the use of assaults, arrests and torture.7 The number of health professionals fleeing the country has escalated while resources for the health sector have collapsed, with dire effects on the around 20% of the population with HIV or AIDS.  

The strategies of the Zimbabwean state of both structural and physical violence in all its parallels with the last years of apartheid seem to be both unravelling and at the same time becoming more vicious. The combination of centrally directed and presidential-inspired incitement to violence, including sexual violence, securitisation of state institutions, state of emergency in all but name, the use of informer networks and covert ‘Third Force’ hit squads to brutalise the opposition and destroy its structures before elections, and the manipulation of the media and hate speech attacks, all seek to provide ideological justification for the demonisation of the opposition and licensed informal violence. However, whether through over-confidence or under pressure from South Africa and the region, there was less violence in this election with both the opposition factions of the MDC and the ZANU-PF ‘renegade’ Simba Makoni being able to campaign in rural areas. 

Several post-Mugabe scenarios are possible, including a transition to Mugabeism without Mugabe, an MDC-led government, the rise of a reformist faction within ZANU-PF, a broad government of national unity, a military coup, or even a descent into chaos. But at present a Mugabe hardball response urged on by the ‘Jacobin’ faction inside the party around a presidential run-off seems likely. Violence and intimidation have worked in the past to keep the president in power, have tended to divert the party from its internal divisions, and sidelines the ‘moderate’ ZANU-PF faction which is tempted to reach out to MDC and the international community – not least to try to safeguard their businesses, and other resources including land. Use of the militia and to some extent the police also avoids using the military some of whose loyalty is suspect – at elite level where the would-be kingmaker is thought to have bankrolled the Makoni presidential bid, and at lower ranks level, where many soldiers presumably voted MDC. 

ELECTIONS

The background to the elections was of fear of state-sanctioned violence through use of police, military and militias with the aim of ensuring a ruling party victory at whatever cost8.  Conditions for free and fair elections in the called for in the recent pastoral letter from the Catholic bishops were not followed. Key aspects of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, ratified by the Zimbabwean government were not respected.9  These included the pro-government bias of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)10, insufficient mechanisms for voter registration and roll inspection and ZEC failing to clearly publicise boundaries of new voting constituencies and locations of polling stations. There was also the disqualification of three million diaspora Zimbabweans, lack of voter education, state domination of the media and a lack of independent international and civil society observers.  

All reports from partners and credible observers note that the organisation of the elections was partisan, the opposition parties had little access to state media and to rural areas of the country, and the state media overwhelmingly privileged the messages of the ruling ZANU-PF party11. Nor was there sufficient time between the unilateral announcement on 25th January of the election date for political parties to organise their campaigns. Indeed the electoral commission itself was disorganised as well as partisan. The weighting of the new constituencies is also towards the rural areas – normally seen as government strongholds where opposition parties rarely get access. (But it seems that rural voters were less intimated, including in areas that were formerly ZANU-PF-leaning, although there have to be concerns about any second round where there are no observers). There were widespread reports of government attempting to buy voters’ allegiances through provision of agricultural equipment and (deferred) pay rises to the armed forces and teachers. President Mugabe also amended the electoral law on 18th March to allow the police into polling stations - widely seen as an intimidating tactic, although it is not certain that it was that effective. 

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE NOW IN RELATION TO ELECTIONS

The conditions of the post-election period do not promise well for Zimbabwe escaping from its current interlinked crises and hence helping to stem the increasing poverty of its citizens. Civil society is currently working out its strategy, but it is uncertain what the MDC’s is bar the general strike weapon and Tsvangirai’s regional tour of uninterested leaders. There are worries in civil society that violence and intimidation will characterise any possible second round and that manipulation of results is aimed at gaining either an outright victory or to provide a weakened MDC that will be railroaded into a spurious government of ‘national unity’ to provide greater regional and international legitimacy for continued ZANU-PF misrule. 

It seems that any effective response to the Zimbabwean crisis must be African-led, however unlikely that currently seems.  There should be support and encouragement for the efforts of the African Union (AU) and SADC to provide stronger political mediation in the post-election period aimed at securing government commitment to political and economic reform and to the restoration of basic rights of citizens. Secondly, there is a need to respond to the long-term humanitarian crisis and its effects on the people of Zimbabwe. 

Even if Mugabe were to win the run-off vote he faces a country in total meltdown. A transition point - if not a transformation point - now appears inevitable. The immediate tasks will be to reform the security and legal sectors; create legitimate institutions of government; political reconciliation; rebuild the state; economic recovery, normalisation of relations with the international community for aid; debt relief  and investment. All will take place under circumstances in which Zimbabweans will be extremely vulnerable to externally imposed agendas.

Sequencing of reform will be vital. A return to due process of law and transparency needs to take place with depoliticisation, demilitarisation and demilitia-isation of formal and informal state institutions top of the agenda. Perhaps Zimbabwe can then start to move away from a culture of violence, impunity, corruption and cronyism.

Addressing the question of land will be a volatile process. There will need to be a detailed investigation into who has what land under what conditions. It would be politically unacceptable to return to the highly unequal colonial-pattern of land ownership. But for those former commercial farmers prepared to share their expertise innovative land sharing/ renting schemes could be piloted.

The tasks will be immense and there is already talk of creating a Trust Fund to help Zimbabwe’s absorptive capacity which will be fairly modest. Measures to help the skilled and the diaspora return will need to be balanced with employment creating schemes for those who stayed,without overwhelming what few social services remain. Health care professionals could be invited back, initially on a short term basis without losing residence rights elsewhere, and with a range of inventive packages.  

A national convention process could be vital in producing a new people-driven constitution. A stakeholder conference to take this forward could address issues of constitutional reform, electoral reform, land reform, truth recovery and economic and social recovery.

Promoting justice and reconciliation will be a long term process, but Zimbabwe is one of the best-documented sustained human rights abuse processes. Finally from a rather longer run historical view are we seeing the end of the sustainability of the nationalist/ liberation project as it is unable to recuperate and reproduce itself except through violence? State authoritarianism had the dual inheritance of the interventionist settler state and the command politics of the liberation movements.

The seeming illogicality of the politics of disorder has been functional for rewarding clients and supporters, once the original nationalist coalition of workers, peasants, trade unionists, urban dwellers, students and intellectuals had been destroyed through structural adjustment, elite accumulation strategies and corruption. ZANU-PF has been unable to address what Chris Alden saw as the interlinked crises of illegitimacy, expectations and governance; it has only been able to respond through violence/ clientilism, destruction of the disparate social forces opposed to it such as farmers, farmworkers and urban dwellers through militarisation/ militia-isation. This has been accompanied by a location of the crisis as external – Western imperialism and ‘sanctions’. Whilst these have their niche the crisis is overwhelmingly local although not without an initial external dimension that Patrick Bond has pointed to - acceptance of settler debts, ESAP etc, with an ideological debate around ‘who is a real Zimbabwean’? This has acted to exclude urban, white, farmworker, professional etc Zimbabweans through denial of their legitimacy as citizens. The battleground is not just economic and political but also ideological through identity, exclusion and exclusion questions and demonisation of non-ZANU supporters, ruralisation/ totems etc.  

For now Zimbabweans need the greatest international solidarity and pressure on regional governments. The UN Security Council should also be a forum for laying open the human rights abuses which are likely to get worse in the days and weeks ahead. 

*Sam Kabele is a human rights activist. 

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

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/362/47411mbeki.jpgAzad Essa speaks to Grace Kwinjeh, Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum on South Africa, foreign aid, the MDC and the role of the Zimbabwean diaspora in bringing about change, amongst other things

GRACE KWINJEH: The Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum (ZDF) was launched in 2005 to bring together a plethora of Zimbabweans civil society organizations and individuals. It is platform to initiate dialogue, network and build a community of Zimbabweans abroad committed to lobbying for a new democratic Zimbabwe. While the world waits with bated breath too witness how Robert Mugabe deals with a new expected MDC victory, Zimbabweans in exile just cannot wait to get back home.

AZAD ESSA: Tell us more about the ZDF?

GRACE KWINJEH: We are 3 million Zimbabweans in exile. This forum was launched in December 2007, with the view to unite the diaspora, to create dialogue and networking. We also deal with specific issues to do with health, issues of access and education of children in the diaspora. We are essentially a platform that brings together a diverse group of Zimbabweans in exile, and these include professionals working abroad to organizations on the grassroots level.

AZAD ESSA: So much is said to rest on the outcome of these elections. Why so?

GRACE KWINJEH: For many of us, we want to go home. We want to reconnect with our family. As long as there is political conflict, we cannot return. The elections are crucial, and with indications there might be a regime change, if so, and if this is handled well, we will be home sooner than later.

AZAD ESSA: If Mugabe has indeed lost the elections - does he have the muscle and support to continue ruling Zimbabwe?

GRACE KWINJEH: It depends, if he concedes that he has lost the elections, then he cannot do much. However, if he does not concede, then we have a problem. The balance of power lies with the security forces and the side they end up supporting will largely determine the outcome. There is a lot of anxiety and speculation in this regard.

AZAD ESSA: It is reported that even his closest allies are advising Mugabe to quit - what is he hoping to achieve with delaying the results?

GRACE KWINJEH: We are all wondering! He is even printing too much money. In fact, economically, I don't see him holding the country for even a month more. There is no capacity for a run-off. This was the opportunity to lay the platform for a proper framework, involving democratic reform and reconstruction of the economy.

AZAD ESSA: But if Mugabe stepped down in respect of the outcome: Wouldn't this be ironic?

GRACE KWINJEH: Yes it would be. The chances that he steps down without charges against him for his acts of brutality during certain parts of this tenure as President is quite slim. But the opposition party has been careful not to suggest that he will be charged, but this does not stop an individual to charge him, especially through using international legal instruments.

AZAD ESSA: What does this reaction tell you about Mugabe's pre-election expectations?

GRACE KWINJEH: He insisted he wanted it now. You will recall that the MDC wanted it in June, but it is clear he underestimated how unpopular he had become in his own party. He was unprepared and misread the political climate. If he unleashes violence, he will be condemned by SADC and the international community. He has no option but to exit gracefully.

AZAD ESSA: What would an MDC victory mean for Zimbabwe?

GRACE KWINJEH: Firstly, a breath of fresh air. Secondly, Zimbabwe will become part of the community of nations once more. Thirdly, much needed AID and assistance would return. And lastly, it would mean that Zimbabwe would be run by a new government with a lot of repair work. The people of Zimbabwe will have expectations, for we will be looking at a government emerging out of the social liberation movement - with an understanding of the multifaceted crisis at hand - the people will want results immediately. This is going to be very difficult.

AZAD ESSA: So much talk about aid - and the role of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank - plans that Robert Mugabe rejected a number of times, for a number of reasons including the conditions of such economic assistance. Working under the tutelage of the IMF and World Bank - is this the way forward?

GRACE KWINJEH: This is one the challenges that Tsvangerai and the MDC faces. The MDC emerged from the union movement, and so how it balances its ideological stance with the literally the desperate need for economic aid - and we cannot deny aid - is what is going to be very tricky. We need aid; there is not question about this. But to secure aid immediately while considering the sustainable economic advancement of all of Zimbabwe will be a very difficult path to follow. We are surrounded by nations that have assumed political change but with economies that have not reduced economic inequality. Kenya and Zambia are prime examples, and of course so is South Africa. How they find a balance, a very tricky balance to negotiate.

AZAD ESSA: President Thabo Mbeki's stance of not interfering just yet - is this the right approach?

GRACE KWINJEH: It is not. Things are deteriorating fast and he must reconsider. He must reconsider a more robust approach. The war veterans are said to be intimidating in certain areas. To what extent this will continue, is unknown.

AZAD ESSA: But the South African government has been ambiguous in its approach to the Mugabe regime, and that is putting it quite mildly. How do you see their role now?

GRACE KWINJEH: South Africa must play a role in resolving the election crisis. They don't benefit from an influx of Zimbabweans and we want to go home. The South African government issued a statement that the will of the people must be respected. How big and how robust a commitment this implies is yet to be tested. Looking forward with regards to the MDC assuming power and political shifts in South Africa - especially post-Polokwane - a more trade union backed ANC has come to the fore. Given the COSATU-MDC link, and the political focus (in South Africa) somewhat shifting, we are looking forward to a good partnership between a potential new government and the ANC

AZAD ESSA: So we wait for the courts to decide?

GRACE KWINJEH: Well for the MDC - yes. But on the Zanu PF side, there is all this talk of recounting votes and all that. To sum up, it is a total mess. Yet, we are optimistic that Zimbabwe, as indicated by the people, are geared for change, but we know it is going to be a very hard transition.

AZAD ESSA: Finally, you mentioned a few times that the diaspora wants to return home. What do you see as the role of the diaspora in this process?

GRACE KWINJEH: The diaspora is crucial. But before we return home, we will have to know that we have some sort of security there. Will we have jobs to support our families? Poverty drove many out?we have had qualified teachers who have swept in South Africa, and who would rather do that than suffer in Zimbabwe. We do not want to pre-empt these things, but we have started discussions - to start programs to get the diaspora back home - not unlike those that took place when Zimbabwe found independence in 1980 and what happened after the fall of Apartheid in South Africa. The challenge is indeed to get people back and into the reconstruction process.

*Azad Essa is a researcher & journalist at the IOLS-Research Unit, UKZN.

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

The Young Communist League of South Africa [YCLSA] had sent its delegation to Zimbabwe as observers in the recently held elections. The purpose of the mission was to make our own observation independent of various observer missions.

The delegation was led by the Deputy National Secretary, Cde. Khayelihle Nkwanyana, and comprised of 12 members of the YCLSA drawn from district, provincial and National Committees. The delegation was based in the three main regions of Zimbabwe, which are Bulawayo, Harare and the Midlands.

INTIMIDATION OF THE DELEGATION

It should be noted that the delegation observed constatnt surveillance from the Central Intelligence Officers, which led to three members of the delegation returning to South Africa before they were due. In the same vein, one members of then delegation who was based in Bulawayo was interogated by the CIO. This shows the level of intimidation that is still prevalent in Zimbabwe.

We are however pleased that the Zimbabwe government allowed our delegation to enter and leave the country without any major intereference of the mission.

We engaged various formations and structures that are active in Zimbabwe. Amongst those were our interactions with civil society organizations, the attendance of political rallies of the contesting parties. We engaged with the Youth structures such as the NYDT, student formation ZINASU and individual candidates contesting in constituencies for Parliament and Local government from all the political parties.

ABSENT CONDITIONS FOR FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS

Our observation as the YCL is that conditions towards elections were not conducive to be regarded as "free and fair elections" because of the following factors:

1. The State controlled media (the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and the paper – Herald) were openly campaigning for the incumbent President, vilifying the contesting opponents and giving more TV airtime and paper spaces to the ZANU-PF.

2. No voter education done given that these elections were harmonized for the first time with Presidential, Senate, Parliament and Local government level.

3. Voters roll was not given to the opposition, this underpinned the court challenge against the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and dead people in the voters roll.

4. Delimitation of constituencies in favour of the ruling party.

5. Polling station where there was no people residing in the area.

6. The Army generals who threaten Zimbabweans that they will not support any Head of State except Mugabe.

7. Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is ran by senior leaders of the Zanu PF.

The current electoral results which are displayed outside the various polling stations shows that the MDC has won this current electoral process in all the four categories. The remaining result for the Presidential contest is reported to be in favour of Morgan Tswangirai. There is fear of rigging the Presidential leg, thus the delay of the announcement of the results.

As the YCL we are calling for the ZANU PF and the current President of Zimbabwe to accept the will of the people. He must accept the outcomes without any attempt of rigging.

(The actual parliamentary votes as tabulated by the opposition has MDC-Tsvangirai at 14, Zanu at 2 and MDC-Mutambara at 1. See

INTERVENTION BY SADC, AFRICAN UNION AND UNITED NATIONS ON THE POST ELECTIONS' PROCESS

We are calling, once more, the SADC and AU to immediately deploy the peace keeping mission in Zimbabwe to avoid any instability that might be generated by the electoral outcomes. There is fear for the Kenyan situation if Mugabe force his way back. And there is fear about the Army and police staging a coup if the opposition takes the Presidency.

In this regard, we call for the immediate deployment of SADC and United Nations Peace Keeping forces so as to avert any attempt towards sinking Zimbabwe further into violence.

This should serve as a post elections process undertaken by all the parties involved in the elections and all the countries in the region.

**Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/362/47404flag.jpgWe the under-signed Zimbabwean women, in our capacity as THE FEMINIST POLITICAL EDUCATION PROJECT (FePEP), urgently call for an end to the political impasse that our country is in. Over a week after we voted in the harmonized elections, we note with great dismay that the results of the Presidential elections are yet to be released. The country is in limbo. Violence, poverty, HIV & AIDS and deterioration of social services continue to disproportionately affect women and girls. We voted on the 29th of March for our representatives in Parliament and for a Head of State in the hope that collectively they can address these problems. As citizens we demand to know and see the fruits of our vote, which would affirm our rights to participate in politics.

We call for the immediate release of the presidential election results. But regardless of who wins this elections among the four presidential candidates, it is our view that the country is too politically polarized to move on. Whoever becomes our next President has the Herculean task of bringing all sides together to think nationally, and in the best interests of all Zimbabwean citizens, not just their own party, or personal self interest. We believe that neither Mr Robert Mugabe nor Mr Morgan Tsvangirai is trusted enough by everyone to foster unity and national coherence that will be required to move forward. We strongly believe that this is what is at the heart of the present impasse. Equally we do not believe that a run-off will be in our best interests as women. We are too familiar with the violence that was meted upon numerous of us from 1890 when the colonialists came into our country right up to the most recent elections. Chief among these forms of violence is sexual violence, and it concomitant implication, HIV infection. Zimbabwean women now have the lowest life expectancy world wide because of HIV & AIDS, 34 years. We can not afford yet another pointless violent election that will slice more years off our lives.

We boldly suggest that all political parties and players in Zimbabwe come together in a national Transitional Authority, (TA). The TA should be headed by a person who can be trusted by both ZANU PF and the MDC formations. She or he must not be the leader of a registered political party. The TA will be composed of up to 15 members, ensuring geographic, ethnic, and gender balance. We believe that such an interim authority will provide a moderating voice and can pave the way for a government of national unity that can steer Zimbabwe to a more democratic dispensation, guided by a new constitution.

We therefore call upon the Southern African Development Community, supported by the African Union, and the United Nations, to bring all the parties in Zimbabwe together to discuss a move towards this interim arrangement. In this regard the South African President Mr Thabo Mbeki should continue his mediation role. It is our contention that the people of Zimbabwe are so deeply polarized yet again and can not possibly negotiate on their own.

Our position as FePEP reflects and amplifies the voices of so many women, who are tired of seeing their country torn apart by selfish male egos, the quest for unbridled power, and total disregard for citizens’ rights.

Signed,
Teresa Mugadzam, Isabella Matambanadzo, Thoko Matshe, Everjoice Win, Shereen Essof, Juliana Manjengwa, Karin Alexander, Janah Ncube, Priscllah, Misihairabwi-Mushonga Revai Makanje

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

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/362/47403beat.jpgZimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) as an organisation has strength in its permanent deployment of two monitors in each electoral constituency of Zimbabwe ensuring a grassroots presence. ZPP monitors work in the communities of their ordinary residence, which gives ZPP the leverage to sense potential violations and record incidents swiftly and discretely with a high degree of accuracy. ZPP received a worrisome report last week of the existence of torture bases in Mutoko and Mudzi constituencies in Mashonaland East province and our Provincial Coordinator took time during the weekend to investigate the incidents and gave us the following report:

War Veterans have unleashed terror in Mashonaland East with the assistance of the ruling party Zanu PF. War Veterans, youths and war collaborators are beating and torturing suspected opposition party supporters and local observers of the harmonised elections like ZESN.

MUTOKO SOUTH CONSTITUENCY

About ten war veterans using a new B1800 truck and two Toyota trucks all armed are moving around Mutoko beating up people suspected to have voted for MDC Tsvangirai they are forcing villagers to attend meetings during the day and in the evening with the help of Zanu PF youths beat up people. Bases of torture have been established at Corner Store, Kushinga, Jari, Nyahondo and Rukanda.

Last week on Friday, 11 April 2008 around 1900hrs about twenty people were beaten at Corner Store Base and those assaulted included Desmond Dovi residing in Village 13. The war veterans are led by one Chimhini and youths are led by Brighton Mutendera and Jimmy Chivambu. Our Coordinator spoke to a policeman who confirmed the beatings and the bases. The Coordinator said all those who observed elections on the ZESN ticket have been allegedly listed for beatings.

MUTOKO NORTH CONSTITUENCY

Armed veterans are moving around villages forcing people to meetings where suspected MDC members are being beaten up. Bases have been established at Charehwa, Chitekwe, Nyamuzuwe, All souls mission where doctors have fled for their lives.

On Thursday, 10 April a police officer by the name Ngorima said war veterans visited Mutoko police station where they ordered the Member in Charge to call all police officers at the station for a meeting. They were allegedly threatened with death if they arrest any of the perpetrators and were also ordered that during the run off all police officers should cast their votes at the office before the member in charge. Bases were also established in Mutoko East at Lot and Kawere villages and Bondamakara and Chikuhwa schools.

MUDZI CONSTITUENCY

Bases have been established at Nyamapanda, Dendera, Kotwa, Suswe and Chifamba. The same war veterans stated above are holding meetings in villages and people are being beaten. On Thursday, 10 April 2008 three MDC activists were heavily assaulted at Kotwa and are detained at Kotwa hospital. These war veterans have instructed all hospitals not to attend to these victims. ZPP is still trying to establish the identity of the three MDC activists.

MUREHWA NORTH CONSTITUENCY

On Friday 11 April 2008, war veterans and Zanu PF youths held a meeting at Murehwa Centre around 1600hrs. All shops were closed and war veterans fired two shots in the air to instil fear in the people. At around 17.30 hrs more than 100 MDC supporters toyi toyied in the centre and the war veterans and Zanu PF youths were outnumbered and were forced to disperse.

In Matenda village two ZESN observers Blessing Chirambadoro and another were threatened with eviction and are now living in fear.

MARONDERA EAST

ZPP Provincial Coordinator also visited the constituency and reported that by Friday 11 April 2008 three houses had been burnt down and people were being assaulted by Zanu PF supporters. On Friday three MDC activists were heavily assaulted at Rapid farm and they are being guarded by Zanu PF youths so that they do not access treatment. The victims were assaulted by war veterans.

MASHONA LAND WEST

One polling agent Aaron and three MDC activists Broderick Marigawa, Taka Ganje and Caleb Marufu were for the past two weeks living in mountains in Kanzamba village, Makonde constituency. The four are said to have ran away from their homes after serious threats of violence from Zanu PF men namely, Black Jesus of Mhangura, Thomas Ganure a soldier from the village, Lovemore Mupoto, Marko Gungungu, a Mashintini and one Brown all from the same constituency are said to be the perpetrators haunting the polling agent and the activists. The polling agent’s plight has been allegedly heightened because his parents belong to Zanu PF and are aiding the perpetrators in threatening the activists. The four are in dire need of legal and counselling services.

As ZPP we are getting frustrated with the situation prevailing in Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West and in other parts of Zimbabwe in direct contravention of the country’s laws and international laws that the Government is a signatory. These actions should come to a quick stop as no people should be terrorised continuously with perpetrators threatening police officers that they should not carry out their law enforcing duties by arresting perpetrators and intimidating Doctors and victims that they should not get medical assistance. These are serious forms of politically motivated violations and they should just come to a stop in the spirit of letting Peace Prevail.

Let Peace Prevail

*ZPP envision a Zimbabwe that would transform into a society that cherishes the pursuit and realisation of justice, freedom, peace, human dignity and development.

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

The newly elected chair-person of the South-African based Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum, Mr Solomon Chikowero, has urged Zimbabweans based in South-Africa to remain resilient in the face of many challenges confronting them in the country.

Chikowero urged Zimbabweans based in South-Africa to unite and press for democratic reforms in Zimbabwe that will enable an environment that fosters stability to ensure a peaceful transition and reconstruction, for them to be able to go back home.

"Many of us are here for economic and political reasons, for as long as these remain unresolved then we are going to remain in foreign lands forever. We want to go home. The harmonised election on March 29 offered an opportunity for the resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis, but it seems as though the Robert Mugabe regime will stop at nothing to disregard the people's will. No solution that does not respect the will of the people will be sustainable."

Chikowero urged Zimbabweans based in South-Africa to come out in their hundreds for a demonstration to be held on Wednesday the 16th of April, to press for a lasting solution on the Zimbabwean situation. South-Africa's President Thabo Mbeki at the weekend declared that there was no crisis in Zimbabwe.

"We know there is a crisis in Zimbabwe, that is one of a ruling elite that refuses to accept that the people rejected it at the polls. We know who won in the elections, we demand that the results be made public for all without any further delays."

*Please note that the logistics and mobilisation will be handled by ZDF affiliates the Zimbabwe Revolutionary Youth Movement and the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum - Demonstrators will start gathering at 10.AM. For more information, please contact, Sox Chikhohwero Chair-person of the ZDF at 27 72 238 9192 or Simon Mudekwa at 0796192955.

According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), by July 2007 the number of Zimbabweans deported from South Africa to their home country had reached 17 000 each month. Cross-border movements on this scale inevitably feed into issues of public concern, whether well-informed or not, such as crime, corruption, and xenophobia. This paper reports on a regional workshop held in November 2007 to address the issues raised by Zimbabwean migration.

It is now eleven days since Zimbabwe held its disputed General Elections. It is very troubling that since 29th March 2008, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has not declared the Presidential election results and the people of Zimbabwe have not been given any credible explanation for the ordinate delay.
The holding of democratic elections is an important dimension in conflict prevention, management and resolution.

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Tsvangirai has squashed reports that he is prepared to clash with Robert Mugabe in the presidential run off within a period of 21 days as stipulated by law. Tsvangirai who was invited to attend a SADC's emergency meeting in Zambia said his party had won the elections and would what so ever not participate in the run off.

Following its interim statement of 31 March on the 2008 Harmonised Elections in Zimbabwe, EISA has continued to monitor the unfolding events in Zimbabwe in anticipation of the announcement of the final and complete election results. This statement is a follow-up which highlights issues in the post-election phase that deserve urgent attention.

Having watched and waited to see if anyone would mobilise nonviolent action and having seen none to date, around 800 members of WOZA and MOZA began their rollout of peaceful actions in Bulawayo. The group started their protest at the provincial court on Herbert Chitepo and Leopold Takawira.

This week, many African bloggers focused on the twin elections in Zimbabwe, analyzing and commenting on the competing claims of victory, the rumors and sometimes outlandish allegations that have been coming from that country.

wonders whether the final election results will reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people:

“We now await the Zimbabwe election results to see if the election was fixed or fair -- or poorly fixed. Should the fix be in, will Zimbabweans accept the "result" as in past elections, or will Zimbabwe descend into the chaos Kenya faced?

Based upon the average Zimbabwean's aversion to more warfare, I doubt the Kenya chaos will result unless Mugabe loses and unleashes his thugs. But he does that after every election in order to secure the next one.

Will Zimbabweans be free? I don't know.”

Township Vibes shares the widespread impatience and suspicion at the snail’s pace in which the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is releasing the results:

“Is there something going on that we haven't been told? The whole nation waits, very anxiously for the results of probably the most important election in the life of the long suffering Zimbabweans since independence.

Is the rigging machine at work? I don't know how you see it! How can one be a player and referee in the same game. Let's be serious, everyone knows the election results.

Why play with people's emotions? The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission should just give people the results. Morgan Tsvangirayi and MDC won the election period! People know the results, Zanu PF knows the results, MDC know the results, and nearly everyone knows the results. Some may want to argue, some are saying let's wait for the results being announced by the Zanu PF government! Give me a break!

Zanu PF lost and lost big time!”

the online forum for Zimbabwean activists argues that the MDC should mobilize its supporters to ensure that the MDC claim of victory becomes a reality:

“Sure there needs to be an election to expose - what is so clearly being exposed - the work of Rigger Mugabe. But it doesn’t end there. A stolen election needs to be backed up by strong civic resistance. And usually it’s a good idea to have civic resistance guided by strong leadership. This is where Plan B comes in - the elephant in the room as far as the political opposition and civil society is concerned…

There is absolutely no question that the MDC has worked hard and campaigned strongly, but this is not enough. The MDC must prepare their supporters for resistance and be willing to lead them. Clear leadership from the MDC will mitigate spontaneous and sporadic violence. Civil society organisations must ignite their memberships (if indeed they actually have them) and lead them in defense of their vote. The international community must be prepared to speak out and support democratic change in Zimbabwe.

We cannot continue to sub contract the response to electoral fraud in Zimbabwe to the international community. We cannot continue to shield the MDC from criticism for their lack of follow through.”

Yblog ZA describes how activists were able to inform the world of the possible MDC victory even before the Mugabe regime had the time to get its act together:

“In 2000, 2002 and 2005 we encouraged MDC members and supporters to go to the polls but we did not claim our victories. MDC made a mistake of not claiming their victory and ZEC doctored the figures to keep Mugabe in power. In 2008 a secretive group of compatriots may have gotten the jump on Mugabe they came prepared and knowing Zimbabwe's electoral law they knew results would be posted as bulletin outside every polling station. The group deployed trained polling agents, equipped with phones and cameras, throughout the country on election day Saturday, and they counted voters and took photographs of voting results pasted up at voting stations (a previously unobserved requirement of voting regulations). The information was sent via text messages or satellite phone to a call center in South Africa, where it was collated and posted at www.zimelectionresults.com for all to see. "These will be archived on this Web site later as forensic evidence," the site says. "A separate report on discrepancies will be filed on the site later."

Although official counts for Saturday's election have been delayed, the Independent Results Centre has already announced that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai have won in a landside. Given the country's history of electoral fraud, the clandestine group's findings are likely to be widely perceived as at least as plausible as the official ones.”

Thinking Aloud wonders whether it is a good idea for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to step into Mugabe’s shoes if his victory is confirmed:

“… this man is a hero, he has managed to mobilise Zimbwabweans around a single cause of defeating Mugabe … he has fought a good fight, he has kept the faith till the end!

All emotion dictates that he finally ascends the throne and wear the crown of victory. But let us be a little critical and ask this question for the sake of a better Zimbwabwe from the head? Is Morgan the right guy for the job? Will he be able to handle the broken machinery of the Zim government? I will be the first one to say I don’t know Morgan very well, except his heroics against Mugabe… I believe Morgan should rather take a political father role of the new government. I believe he is more suited to be the unifier, and seek to sell MDC to the Mugabe rural constituencies. He can then make sure that the best brains that MDC has can then ascend to rule the country while he becomes the symbol of freedom. He stands to then be the real father of Zimbwabwe and avoid the tricky task of governance… liberators do not always make good governors. I also hope that the other faction stays as opposition and Zanu-PF remains as opposition, just to keep MDC on its toes. In SA we have learnt that in the absence of credible opposition, the liberators quickly loose their way!”

* Dibussi Tande, a writer and activist from Cameroon, produces the blog Scribbles from the Den

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

The Rozaria Memorial Trust Board of Trustees ae grateful for the support and voice of kenyan civil society on the current crisis in Zimbabwe . Any further deterioration of the situation will have huge implications for human rights especially for women and children. At the moment the election commission has mised the legal deadline for announcing results, and we therefore have a potential constitutional crisis.

I am surprised to have heard this morning from my national broadcasting corporation (TBC) that President Robert Mugabe has asked the Zimbabwe Electoroal Commission (ZEC) to recount the Presidential election votes. But why?

This means that the delay of not giving out the results clearly shows that the opposition has won the election and that, the ZANU-PF leader is in the process of manipulating the results. President Mugabe must accept the results whatsoever, why plunging the nation into a political turmoil? It really shows that Mugabe has sensed a situation of failure on his own side.

Why is he asking for the vote recounting when the election commission has not yet announced the results? If the results would have been out, then a disatisfied contestant is given time to complain of the results. But for him, this is in vice versa.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/359/47203msg.jpgPaul T Zeleza looks at the long road that might yet see Mugabe's downfall and calls for a democracy that ultimately serves the Zimbabwean people through political and economic enfranchisement

As of now, results for the presidential elections in Zimbabwe have not yet been declared, five days after the elections were held last Saturday, March 29. In the meantime, the results of the parliamentary elections, which had been announced at snail's pace by the Electoral Commission over the past few days are now complete. They show that President Mugabe's ruling party, ZANU-PF, has lost its parliamentary majority. The opposition party, MDC, has won 99 to ZANU-PF's 97 out of 210 parliamentary seats. Eleven other seats were won by an MDC splinter group, and one by an independent candidate. Thus the opposition has won 110; three seats remain to be contested in by-elections because they were postponed following the death of opposition candidates. The ruling party's loss of its parliamentary majority represents a shockwave in Zimbabwe's post-independence political history.

But the real earthquake would be President Mugabe's downfall. Thus, as crucial as the parliamentary elections are, it is the results of the presidential elections that everyone is waiting for with mounting anxiety. The Electoral Commission is appealing for patience and blames logistical problems in releasing the results. But all the evidence including the very delay in the announcement of the results indicates that the irascible octogenarian dictator, President Mugabe, is, at the very least, trailing the veteran opposition leader, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai. In previous presidential elections (which were held separately from parliamentary elections) the predictable (the opposition would say predictably rigged) outcome was announced with a lot more alacrity and fanfare. Even more likely is the probability that President Mugabe has lost and his regime is trying to rig the elections. Outright rigging of the results will be difficult, but not impossible, because of a pre-election agreement among the parties that results should be posted outside each polling station: the opposition insisted on this to avoid blatant rigging that it suspected robbed it of victory in previous elections.

In the immediate ecstasy of the elections, the MDC claimed outright victory, that Mr. Tsvangirai had decisively beaten President Mugabe by 60% to 30%. Perusal and sampling of 435 of the 9,400 polling stations by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, a coalition of civic groups, projected a more modest victory by the MDC leader. It indicated that Mr. Tsvangirai would receive between 47-51.8 percent to President Mugabe's 39.2-44.4 percent. In its latest announcement the MDC claims its leader has won 50.3 percent of the vote to President Mugabe's 43.8 percent. This is crucial figure: to avoid a runoff, the winner has to garner more than 50 percent of the popular vote. While conceding that the President failed to win 50 percent of the vote, for the first time in his twenty eight year reign, the government mouthpiece, The Herald, insists neither did Mr. Tsvangirai, thus making a runoff election later this month inevitable (according to the law, a runoff election has to be held in 21 days).

Zimbabwe and the wider southern African region, not to mention the rest of the continent and the so-called international community, are watching this unfolding political drama with intense interest and growing trepidation. In the absence of the presidential results, rumors are rife: about the shock and tensions within the ruling party with some of his lieutenants reportedly ready to ditch him, that there are negotiations between the opposition and the embattled president's advisors to ease him into resignation and retirement, and about the unpredictable machinations and loyalties of the security chiefs.

Expectations that the despised autocrat was too humiliated to stay are now giving way to fears that he will hang on and fight in the runoff election. Many political commentators believe that he will be trounced in a new election that is free and fair. That is the big question: will the mortally wounded tyrant be allowed by his security forces and political cronies who are running scared of losing their ill-gotten wealth built on the carcasses of deepening poverty of millions of workers and peasants, not to mention the immiseration of significant sections of the middle classes, to unleash the wrath of state power to terrorize the opposition into defeat?

Whatever happens next, it is not hard to explain the defeat of ZANU-PF and President Mugabe in the recent elections. A government that has impoverished its population as spectacularly as President Mugabe's inept dictatorship has done cannot maintain popular support. Zimbabwe's descent into the economic abyss has been staggering for a country not at war: inflation has apparently risen to a mindboggling rate of 164,900 percent, life expectancy has nearly been halved, and between a quarter and a third of the population has fled to neighboring countries and overseas. In this election Zimbabweans have shown that they have had enough of the Mugabe government's bankrupt stewardship of their well-being.

Predictable as it may seem from afar and in hindsight, what explains the opposition's victory is that support for President Mugabe's government finally collapsed in the rural areas, its political backbone since the liberation war from settler colonialism. It was in the enduring interests of repossessing land stolen by the European settlers under colonial rule and in the endearing name of the peasantry that the liberation war was fought and the violent land seizures embarked upon from the late 1990s after the British government reneged on the Lancaster House agreement and as the Mugabe government lost became increasingly unpopular thanks to its embrace of structural adjustment and abandonment of radical development policies including land reform. Yet, the peasantry benefited little from either, whose principal beneficiaries were functionaries of the political class. The urban working classes had long grown disenchanted with the tired socialist rhetoric of ZANU-PF which promised broad-based development but delivered unfettered neo-liberalism that benefited the elite that fragrantly flaunted its affluence as the country has sunken deeper into economic decline.

The rural peasantry did not simply catch up, as it were, with the urban working classes. Rural discontent has been growing. Indeed, the rural areas bore the brunt of economic decline and political terror as the regime sought to shore up its dwindling legitimacy and tattered revolutionary credentials by tightening its grip on the peasantry, its symbolic and substantive basis of power. The costs of the economic crisis, as manifested in food shortages and the politicization of food relief efforts, finally broke the proverbial patient backs of the peasantry.

Connecting the two, the peasantry and the working classes, the rural and the urban areas, and the country's other spatial and social divides, including the ethnicized divisions between the old Mashonaland and Matabeleland, which the Mugabe regime had manipulated to weaken the opposition and maintain its iron grip on power, was the draconian "Operation Murambatsvina", officially translated as "Operation Clean Up", but literally translated as "getting rid of the filth", through which the government sought to drain the cities including Harare, the capital, of political opposition. The operation was launched in 2005 and affected more than two million people. The bulk of the MDC's parliamentary seats from previous elections were located in the cities. This criminal evacuation program, which was widely condemned within Zimbabwe and internationally including by the United Nations, led to the destruction of the informal sector in the cities and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people many of whom flocked to the increasingly destitute rural areas. This not only exacerbated rural poverty, but also helped dissolve some of the social and political boundaries, both real and imagined, between the rural and urban areas and dwellers, which raised national consciousness and reinforced opposition to the former liberation heroes turned into predators in power.

If we are indeed witnessing the death throes of the Mugabe dictatorship, the full credit for this goes to the long-suffering people of Zimbabwe, not the so-called international community, neither feeble regional organizations like SADC nor imperious western powers such as Britain or the United States who have little moral credibility in Africa's protracted struggles for democracy. It is also a testimony to the transformative power of the ballot box.

But as we have seen across Africa and elsewhere where dictatorship have fallen, the electoral process offers, at best, minimal conditions for democracy; full democracy, which is still a work in progress globally notwithstanding the conceit of the so-called mature democracies, must entail political and economic enfranchisement for all that goes beyond ritualized certifications of fractions of the political class every four or five years. And that requires eternal vigilance by civil society, continuous struggles against the self-serving political class. This is to suggest that sustaining and expanding democracy in Zimbabwe will be as hard as getting rid of the Mugabe dictatorship.

Given its social composition and the present regional and global conjunctures, the MDC will not, if and when it takes power, magically turn Zimbabwe around into a developmental democratic state and society: that will require building and sustaining cultures and communities of accountability.

* Paul T Zeleza is editor of The Zeleza Post. This article was first published at

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

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/359/47201muga.jpgStatement of the GZF on the situation in Zimbabwe, issued after the Global Teleconference by all the regions present

Zimbabwe Global Forum (GFZ) condemns the actions by the Government of Zimbabwe for the arbitrary handling of the electoral process as well as the results of the presidential elections held on March 29, 2008.

The Government of President Robert Mugabe, and his ruling ZANUPF party have frustrated, not only the conduct of the elections but the timely release of the election results.

What is even more troubling is that President Mugabe’s ZANUPF are demanding a recount of the presidential votes, while at the same time preventing the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission from releasing the presidential election results.

President Robert Mugabe and his subordinates have started arming the youth militia and war veterans to unleash retributive and coercive violence against opposition supporters, especially in rural areas. President Mugabe is embarking on a warpath to impose himself on Zimbabweans in the aftermath of his defeat in the elections. It is self evident that President Mugabe does not respect the democratic process of elections in accordance with the SADC Guidelines and the laws of Zimbabwe.

Well -confirmed results - even from the vote-counting officers of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission - show that the Movement for Democratic Change led by Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai won both the presidential and parliamentary elections. These results, which were posted outside the counting centers in accordance with the mandate of ZEC, also clearly show that Morgan Tsvangirai won by more than 50 percent.

Constitutionally, President Mugabe is by law obligated and required to concede defeat and hand over power to the MDC, according to the procedures provided for by the Constitution.

President Mugabe and ZANUPF have a proven history of political violence against members of the opposition parties. This is how he has maintained his rule over the years.

President Mugabe will now use all the barbaric and brutal force at his command to go after the Zimbabweans who voted against him and his party.

Already, reports are emerging of an assault on innocent civilians, aimed at forcing them to vote for Mugabe at the next run-off election and hence:

1. We call upon the international community to bring pressure to bear on the Mugabe regime to respect the people’s verdict and accept defeat. We quote from President Mugabe himself before the elections when he said if ZANUPF loses the elections he will concede defeat.

2. We demand that the countries of SADC insist that President Mugabe should follow the electoral procedures as laid out in the SADC guidelines and the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

3. We call upon, the Secretary General of the United Nations to begin consultations leading to the convening of the Security Council on the crisis in Zimbabwe.

4. We call upon the African Union, in consultation with SADC, to send a strong African delegation to mediate the crisis in Zimbabwe. The delegation should stay in Zimbabwe for as long as is necessary to resolve the crisis.

5. We call upon the countries of Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and Botswana which have expressed concern at the denial of human and civil rights in Zimbabwe to play a leading role in bringing pressure to bear on President Mugabe.

6. The Government of the Republic of South Africa has a unique geopolitical and historic influence on Zimbabwe. We call upon President Thabo Mbeki, whose country will be adversely affected by the ongoing crisis of governance and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, to initiate a shuttle diplomacy between President Mugabe and President-elect Tsvangirai in order to resolve peacefully the country’s electoral conflict.

7. Should a rerun of the presidential election become the only option to resolve the crisis, we call upon the United Nations to supervise the election with the active participation of SADC, AU and civil society in the country and region.

8. If President Mugabe and ZANUPF refuse to accept reasonable conditions for resolving the crisis, we call upon the international community not to recognize the Mugabe regime, especially, if the regime is fraudulently and by force of arms imposed on the people of Zimbabwe.

9. We also call upon the international community to impose more effective targeted sanctions against the Mugabe regime if it refuses to comply with the democratic norms for elections and handing over power.

10. We call upon the industrialized countries of North American, the European Union, etc. to increase, expand and extend the scope of their humanitarian assistance programs to include Zimbabwean refugees, especially the traumatized victims of assault by the Mugabe regime.

11. We call upon the international community to continue to strengthen civic society in Zimbabwe, and to distribute aid through civic organizations rather than a disputed government to avert politicization and misappropriation of resources and ensure that aid reaches its intended beneficiaries.

12. We call upon the international community to stand ready to engage the new democratic Zimbabwean on the basis of the Zimbabwe Strategy paper.

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

The International Federation of Journalists today accused the authorities in Zimbabwe of intimidation of journalists and called on the authorities to allow media to report freely as tension mounts following the elections for President held last Saturday.

The IFJ says the arrest of journalists in Harare yesterday was an attempt to sabotage media coverage media of the current political crisis and a possible run-up election which may be needed.

"It is absurd to suggest, as the authorities have, that these arrests are part of an investigation over spying," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "Put simply, this is a sinister act of political bullying."

New York Times reporter Barry Bearak, 58, and Steven Bevan a 45-year-old freelance journalist from Britain were arrested and charged with “practising without accreditation,” according to reports. They were held at a guest house in the capital Harare that is popular with foreign journalists. Two others who were not identified were also arrested.

"At this critical moment in the history of modern Zimbabwe people have a right to know about different political opinions in the election," said White. "Journalists must be allowed to report freely and without intimidation.”

The authorities have banned most foreign media coverage of the elections last week but a number of news organisations have filed reports from correspondents who snuck into the country. In the moths before the election the government cracked down on local and national journalists, shutting down newspapers and allowing members of Mugabe’s political party to harass and attack journalists with impunity.

“It appears that people are voting for change and if that means a fresh start for media and freedom of the press, then it is long overdue,” said White.

*The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide. For more information contact the IFJ at + 32 2 235 2207

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