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Good Governance Africa (GGA) has been closely tracking and analysing the run-up to Zimbabwe’s 23 August election. As it draws closer, the GGA notes with concern the accumulating number of transgressions that do not inspire confidence that this election will be declared free, fair and credible. The organisation’s own team was removed from the country after having obtained formal permission to be there.
Speaking during an election observers and media briefing in Harare on 16 August, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba, gave assurance that the country’s electoral body is ready to deliver a credible election. Furthermore, Zimbabwe’s police commissioner-general, Godwin Matanga, reportedly pledged sufficient policing measures to ensure the safety of observers and the holding of a peaceful election. Critical as these assurances are, developments observed so far reflect failure and lack of commitment to adhere to the minimum standards of integrity required for a credible election.
Observed electoral transgressions
With less than a week until polling day, the ZEC is yet to account for the long-standing disputes concerning the delimitation report and the voters’ roll. Recently, the ZEC has been locked up in fresh legal battles with the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) over the voters’ roll and the printing of ballot papers. On 11 August, the CCC’s secretary for elections, Ian Makone, filed an urgent application seeking an order to compel the ZEC to provide an up-to-date roll and a final list of polling stations. In response and somewhat unsurprisingly, the high court dismissed this application as “not urgent”.
The voters’ roll has been a controversial issue during previous electoral cycles and remains so, with persistent allegations that it is flawed, casting doubt on the legitimacy and credibility of each electoral process. Additionally, the CCC lodged another application seeking an order to compel the ZEC to disclose details regarding the printing, distribution and serial numbers of the ballot papers. The ZEC has since bowed to pressure and on 18 August published these details.
Apart from these matters concerning the voters’ roll and ballot papers, the run-up to the 23 August poll has been preceded by other endless legal battles that have seen some previously nominated candidates either being disqualified, re-admitted after appeals, withdrawing or being forcibly retained. A 30 June Extraordinary Government Gazette published an initial list of 11 presidential candidates as well as the parliamentary and local government nominees. On 19 July, Elisabeth Valerio, of the United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA), successfully appealed her initial exclusion from the presidential race. Saviour Kasukuwere, initially part of the 11, was later disqualified and, despite numerous appeals, has been kept out of the race. On 3 August, the supreme court reinstated 12 CCC parliamentary candidates earlier struck off from the ballot after the high court ruled that they, together with six other candidates from other opposition parties, had filed their nominations late. On Tuesday 8 August, Douglas Mwonzora, of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC T), also one of the initial 11, announced his withdrawal, citing concerns about the pending election’s credibility. The ZEC, however, has forcibly retained him, arguing that his withdrawal should have come less than 21 days before the polling day.
These nomination court-decision controversies, which ultimately disenfranchise some sections of the electorate, confirm that the electoral court cannot be relied upon as an enabler for citizens to exercise their constitutionally enshrined right to participate freely, without fear of intimidation in the electoral process or, if it is the case, to be heard in the event of this being a disputed election.
The exorbitant election fees; candidate disqualifications; selectively applied campaign restrictions, particularly regarding access to rural areas; cases of violence; removal and defacing of campaign posters are among some of the impediments that have characterised the run-up to 23 August. As noted by Musa Kika, the director of external relations for the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT): “In a democratic state, police would not prevent opposition forces from accessing rural constituencies against court orders, as is the case in the current election … Similarly, courts cannot uphold amendments and bills contrary to constitutionally enshrined rights and freedoms.”
As the electorate and Zimbabwean civil society play their part to both defend and exercise this right, the country’s leadership, regional and international observer missions such as the Southern Africa Development Community Election Observer Mission (SADC mission), European Union and the Commonwealth have a duty to ensure that this and future elections meet the minimum standards of regional and international best practices for the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.
This election is particularly a test of Zimbabwe’s commitment to re-engagement efforts that include the long-standing bid to gain re-entry into the Commonwealth. In its press release dated 11 August, the SADC mission, in line with its mandate, will assess the conduct of the elections against a set of central principles stipulated in the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021). These include:
“… full participation of the citizens in the democratic and development processes, measures to prevent political violence, intimidation and intolerance, equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media as well as access to information by all citizens, and acceptance of and respect for the election results by all political parties.”
It is therefore commendable that invitations have been extended to a diverse pool of regional and international observers, some of whom, like the SADC mission, the EU and the Commonwealth, are in the country and have already deployed in all 10 provinces. It is imperative that these observer missions place the electorate at the centre of their assessment of this pending election and where necessary make recommendations calling for the much-needed electoral reforms to strengthen future electoral processes.
The future
The election may already be flawed, as highlighted by the transgressions detailed above coupled with the election being held in a strained socio-political and economic context, placing its credibility in question. But, for the same reasons, Zimbabwe’s electorate must remain resolute and encouraged, and uphold the hope for democratic reform by going out in their numbers to defend their hard-fought fundamental right to vote and demand the reform they seek.
It is the GGA’s hope that the international electoral observers, some of whom have only recently been deployed, will not only evaluate developments during the last week leading up to the election day and the events of the day itself, but will conduct comprehensive evaluations that include focusing on the longer-term developments that have occurred in their absence.
A lesson from previous elections in the SADC region for all international observers to remember when finalising their election observation reports is that major contestations arise from the vote counting process itself. Once the results have been tallied, most observers have either left the country or completed their mission and have submitted their final observation reports. As a result, the observation reports may unwittingly create the misconception that the election was held in a free, fair, and credible manner. The ruling party may abuse this part of the process and use it as a justification to claim a flawed election victory. Therefore, to avoid international observers contributing to a polarised situation they should formulate mitigation measures to minimise this risk (such as staying in the country until all results are fully counted and communicated).
Given that the incumbent ruling party in Zimbabwe has been variously accused of narrowing the space for civil society organisations to function, co-opting the judiciary, infiltrating and dividing the opposition, compromising the ZEC and generally using the security apparatus in nefarious ways, it is imperative that all of these matters be coherently addressed ahead of any future elections in the country.
Dr Craig Moffat is at Good Governance Africa, a research and advocacy nonprofit organisation with centres around Africa