The military was accused of dealing violently with voters who did not support Zanu-PF in the 2008 poll
As Zimbabwe's politicians bicker about whether to implement more reforms before polls, a Harare think-tank says credible elections are impossible if the army and police are not reformed.
In its latest report released last week, the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute says that the rise of "security politics" has given the security sector a high degree of political influence. It says the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union appear to have failed to push for significant reforms in the sector, leaving it fully in charge of the political landscape.
"In Zimbabwe, militia politics exist with the acquiescence of the state and the security establishment. The failure to implement security sector reforms have the potential to block a possible democratic transition as the country prepares for the first election after the formation of the unity government," says the report.
The institute says urgent attention is required to subordinate the security chiefs to democratic civilian leaders. Mugabe has publicly refused to oversee changes in the army such as the writing of a service charter for the army that forbids political allegiances for army generals, saying that would be like effecting regime change.
It says the failure to implement agreed reforms was more glaring in the security sector, given the "poisonous" role played by the military in the 2008 presidential elections. The Movement for Democratic Change accuses soldiers of perpetrating violence against its supporters then. "Zimbabwe's security sector should be transformed. This is the key that can unlock free and fair elections," the report concludes.
Trevor Maisiri, a Zimbabwean political analyst with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, agreed with the Zimbabwe Democratic Institute that security sector reform is importance ahead of elections.
"Zanu-PF and the security sector have never been separated in the political landscape since independence from Britain in 1980. Even during the liberation struggle, the political wing and military wing were integrated. Zanu-PF is unwilling because operating without the army will be new terrain for them," he said.
South African team
Meanwhile, the South African team mandated by the SADC to work with Zimbabwe's political parties this week left Harare after Zanu-PF did not turn up for a meeting.
In a media statement, one of the facilitators, special envoy Charles Nqakula, said Zanu-PF had not turned up despite an agreement on April 16 that all the parties would attend the meeting.
This paper reported last week that Zanu-PF had decided to reduce its co-operation with the South African and SADC teams.
South Africa's team also included President Jacob Zuma's spokesperson Mac Maharaj and international relations adviser Lindiwe Zulu. The SADC is represented by Tanzania, Zambia and Namibia.
It has been widely reported in Zimbabwe's newspapers recently that Maharaj, Nqakula and Zulu, who were assisted in their work by the South African ambassador to Harare, Vusi Mavimbela, were snubbed by Harare after Zanu-PF politburo members Nicholas Goche and Jonathan Moyo refused to allow them into joint-party meetings, saying their presence was not needed as it would be an infringement on Zimbabwe's sovereignty.