Zimbabwe’s Senate poll is scheduled for this weekend, but there is little sign of the customary heated political activity. Incidents of violence hardly register on the radar screen.
Ructions in the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) over participation have dominated the run-up to the poll and the ruling Zanu-PF has done little campaigning. The result has been apathy among voters, who remain focused on the daily struggle to survive hunger and grinding poverty.
For 33-year-old Charles Nyatsuro, who works as an administrator for a debt-collecting company in the capital Harare, his concerns are centred on providing for his two children. “It’s difficult to plan for the future because the situation is changing every day for the worse,” he said after emphatically stating that he will not join the queues at polling stations on Saturday.
In Harare’s Highfields township, the place where Zanu-PF was formed in 1963, the mood among residents is no different. Chris Mbeva’s home is not far from the playground where about 250 000 people gathered to welcome back President Robert Mugabe on his return from exile in 1980. “Mugabe was a hero for many then, but certainly not now. Things are not looking good. The cost of living has shot up. I’m not interested in politics anymore,” he said, shrugging off any further discussion on the upcoming election.
But in the nearby Mabvuka township, Tonderai Chirikure, a security guard who works six days a week, said voting could make a difference. “We need to have elders in the upper house to review laws. We can’t have a one-sided upper house. I will vote for those who oppose. All I want is progress,” he reasoned.
The November 26 poll date holds no significance for Angelina Nkomazana, a communal farmer in a tiny hamlet in Matabeleland North province. The day will be spent like any other, trying to make some money doing chores for her neighbours or collecting water for them from a distant dam with a donkey-drawn cart. Nkomazana, who has two orphaned grandchildren to take care of, knows very little about the upcoming election.
“I have heard about it, but I don’t know when it is. Most people are in the dark … and I personally have little interest. I’m tired of voting and things remain the same, with life getting tougher,” she said.
“I feel I have to concentrate on fending for my grandchildren. I struggle to feed them, and what makes my situation worse is that I’ve no support — both their parents are late [dead],” Nkomazana explained.
Dozens of villagers in rural Matabeleland echoed her sentiments. The controversy over the revival of the Senate has passed over their heads.
Bekezela Dube, a villager in Matabeleland South province, found voting in an election he did not understand disturbing. “Elections are important, but only when people know what they are voting for. I get frightened when I involve myself in things that I don’t understand — what if I vote and later discover that I’ve voted for something that will kill me?”
The loyal supporter of the MDC felt let down by his party because it had done little to educate him about the Senate. “All I know is that we once had a Senate, but why it was abolished and why it has become handy at this point in time remains a mystery to me — both the government and political parties were supposed to explain this to us way before. Now there is no more time, and I think most people will not vote. I will vote simply for the love of my party,” he commented.
The MDC has split into two factions, with party leader Morgan Tsvangirai calling for a boycott of the Senate poll, while secretary general Welshman Ncube and other senior members advocate participation.
The pro-Senate faction argues that boycotting the poll would be tantamount to surrendering political space to the ruling Zanu-PF and have fielded 26 candidates in various provinces, including the opposition’s traditional stronghold, Matabeleland, to lock horns with rivals from Zanu-PF and five smaller parties.
The division within the MDC has hampered the campaign of its “rebel” candidates, as Tsvangirai continues to encourage supporters to ignore the poll, in line with earlier party resolutions.
However, Zanu-PF has done little campaigning itself. As a result, neither of the main political parties has made an effort to explain the Senate to the electorate.
The political rallies and election posters that usually adorn lampposts and walls have been largely absent, so too the traditional mudslinging between Zanu-PF and the MDC.
Zimbabweans are also divided over the relevance of the Senate, which critics argue was created to provide seats for those close to President Mugabe.
Most civic groups have supported Tsvangirai’s call for a boycott, reasoning that the Z$90-billion (more than $3-million) that will be spent on the creation of a Senate could be better spent on poverty alleviation.
Additional reporting Irin News Service