Gerrymandering : Increase from 14 to 26 constituencies in 2008.
Mugabe amends electoral laws
With Zimbabwe's crucial 29 March elections just over a week away, President Mugabe has once again backtracked on changes agreed to at the South African-brokered talks between the government opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Under the agreed electoral laws, to avoid intimidation of voters, police were not allowed within 100 metres of a polling station. However, according to state radio, the newly amended electoral laws allow policemen into polling stations so they can "assist" illiterate people to vote.
Members of the politicised Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) have been brutal in their attempts to suppress all forms of opposition in the country, and according to data collected by organisations such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, they are major perpetrators of human rights abuses. The police have been named as torturers, and police premises as places of torture in hundreds of cases recorded by the Forum.
Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri said police officers will not hesitate to use "full force" to stop politically motivated violence
A warming by Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri at the end of February that the police will not hesitate to use force prior to the elections is beliefed to be a clear indication that the government plans to rig the polls.
Insufficient polling stations in cities
The MDC has filed an urgent court application to compel the country's electoral body to increase the number of polling stations. The MDC took the move after the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), an independent election monitoring group, warned that thousands of voters in Zimbabwe's cities - strongholds of the opposition - may not have time to cast ballots because too few polling stations have been provided.
The ZESN said it feared a repeat of the 2002 presidential elections when tens of thousands of voters were turned away across the country after polls had closed.
A list of polling stations released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), whose members are appointed by President Mugabe, showed "a significant discrepancy" that favoured the ruling party in its rural strongholds, ZESN said.
According to ZESN, Harare has 379 polling centres for about 760 000 registered voters, leaving an average number of 2 022 voting at each station over 12 hours. If there is maximum turnout, that gives each citizen an average of 22 seconds to vote. In one city district, it came down to nine seconds if all 4 600 registered voters showed up.
In contrast, most rural polling stations would handle only about 600 voters each, the network said.
Faced with the potential of mass-scale rigging, the opposition says it is vital that most regional and foreign observers be deployed to all rural areas, traditionally the flash points of political violence and intimidation. In the past, observers have rarely set foot in the Zanu PF strongholds of the three Mashonaland provinces.
Resorting to High Court action for voters' roll
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has had to resort to Harare's High Court to obtain an electronic version of the voters' roll. Widely described as "shambolic", the roll is said to be stuffed with voters who are long-dead, duplicated names and non-existent people or those with fake identities.
Last week, the Electoral Court turned down an opposition application to have the court order the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to disclose the number of ballot papers printed for the joint presidential, parliamentary, senate and local government elections.
Voters' roll discrepancies
SW Radio Africa has published a brief analysis of scanned voters' rolls which reveal major discrepancies between what the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has declared as the number of voters per constituency, and those actually on the voters' roll. In Goromonzi South, for example, the discrepancy is -30.8 percent, while in the Harare suburb of Glen Norah it is +19.9 percent.
Observers selected on basis of reciprocity
Zimbabwe's Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said that election observers had been selected on the basis of "reciprocity, objectivity and impartiality" with regards to their relationship with Zimbabwe.
"Clearly, those who believe the only free and fair election is (one) where the opposition wins have been excluded, since the ruling party, Zanu PF, is poised to score another triumph," he said.
The government has invited 47 regional and sub-regional organisations as well as countries from Africa, the Americas and Asia - notably China and Malaysia - to view the elections. The only European country on the list is Russia.
As the first contingent of Southern African Development Community (SADC) election observers started arriving, the opposition reported a resurgence of incidents of violence, especially in perceived Zanu PF strongholds.
Presidential challenger Dr Simba Makoni has repeatedly described the rural areas as places where people are consumed with fear (due to years of relentless government perpetrated intimidation).
Jan Raath, Times (UK) describes the rural areas as places where "the ruling party card is the key to receiving famine relief when (one is) starving, while dissent has meant death for hundreds."
Mugabe in panic mode
Mugabe is reported by the Zimbabwe Independent to be "in panic mode due to the turmoil in Zanu PF, and in the face of a surging tide of support for his main rivals".
He has stepped up his strategy of vote buying - handing out millions of US dollars worth of agricultural equipment, as well as awarding pay rises to the armed forces and teachers. Mugabe continues to hijack the state media and is widely believed to have geared up the electoral machinery in order to manipulate the vote in his favour.
Violence against opposition parties has intensified
SW Radio Africa reports that violence against opposition members has also intensified, despite the arrival of a regional observer team in Harare on Wednesday. At least five MDC (MT) supporters were attacked recently by a gang of Zanu PF youths and had to be hospitalised. One of the victims is in intensive care.
A parliamentary candidate from the United People's Party was also assaulted by Zanu PF youth militants and is receiving medical care.
Presidential candidate Simba Makoni and his campaign team have been harassed and threatened by war veterans.
Stakes are high for SADC observer mission
Business Day reports that "stakes are high for the SADC observer team" which is expected to ensure that the credibility of SADC is not compromised.
However, Zim Online reports that the SADC executive secretary, Dr Tomaz Salomao, a former planning minister in Mozambique, has expressed confidence that the elections will be peaceful.
"As we come and observe the elections in Zimbabwe, we do so with confidence that the tradition of peace encapsulated in the unquestionable political mutuality and tolerance shall again guide Zimbabweans as they go to the polls," he said.
"Peaceful, beautiful and fantastic"
This week Zimbabwe's ambassador to South Africa, Simon Khaya Moyo, described campaigning in the country as "peaceful, beautiful and fantastic."
Earlier this month however, Moyo was scathing about a series of protests staged outside the Zimbabwean embassy in Pretoria by the Revolutionary Youth Movement of Zimbabwe (RYMZ) and other pro-democracy groups. RYMZ president Simon Mudekwa said they were protesting about the ongoing human rights abuses,
electoral irregularities and the uneven playing field which favours Zanu PF.
Mudekwa said his group wanted the Zimbabwean people to be liberated from oppression, just as South Africans had been.
Mugabe amends electoral laws
Source Date: 18-03-2008
President Robert Mugabe has amended electoral laws to allow policemen into polling stations later this month to "assist" illiterate people to vote, state radio said on Tuesday.
The amendment, which was published as a presidential proclamation on Monday, comes less than two weeks ahead of make-or-break polls on March 29.
The amendment appears to backtrack on changes agreed at recently during South African-brokered talks that restricted police from doubling up as election officers.
Under the electoral laws, police were not to be allowed within 100 metres of a polling station to avoid intimidating voters.
"Section 59 of the act has also been amended and will allow two electoral officers and a police officer on duty to assist semi-literate voters," the radio quoted part of the presidential proclamation as saying.
Voters who are "physically incapacitated" will also be assisted to vote by two electoral officials and a policeman, the report said...
Source: News24 (RSA) [2]
SADC standards breached
- 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
Polling station row spills into High Court
Source Date: 12-03-2008
Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Wednesday filed an urgent court application to compel the country's electoral body to increase the number of polling stations, a lawyer confirmed….
The MDC moved after an independent election monitoring group warned that thousands of voters in Zimbabwe's cities - strongholds of the opposition - may not have time to cast ballots in the March 29 elections because too few polling stations have been provided.
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said it feared a repeat of the 2002 presidential elections when tens of thousands of voters were turned away across the country after polls closed.
A list of polling stations released by the Electoral Commission, whose members are appointed by President Robert Mugabe, showed "a significant discrepancy" that favoured the ruling party in its rural strongholds, the network said.
The ZESN group said Harare has 379 polling centres for about 760,000 registered voters, leaving an average number of 2,022 voting at each station over 12 hours. If there is maximum turnout, that gives each citizen an average of 22 seconds to vote.
In one city district, it came down to nine seconds if all 4,600 registered voters showed up.
In contrast, most rural polling stations would handle only about 600 voters each, the network said.
Source: NewZimbabwe.com (ZW) [3]
SADC standards breached
- 2.1.6: Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
- 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
- 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
- 4.1.7: Polling Stations should be in neutral places;
- 7.3: [The member state holding elections shall] Establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral bodies staffed by qualified personnel …
- 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
- 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…
- 7.6: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the availability of adequate logistics and resources for carrying out democratic elections;
MDC court bid over voters' roll
Source Date: 09-03-2008
Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has resorted to Harare's High Court to try to get an electronic version of the voters' roll for the March 29 presidential and parliamentary elections so he can check that all voters are legitimate.
The negotiations President Thabo Mbeki mediated between (the two formations of) the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the ruling Zanu PF produced amendments to the Electoral Act, enabling any interested party to buy an electronic version of the voters' roll.
In previous elections, the state only had to produce a printed version of more than five million names, which made checking identity numbers almost impossible….
Every constituency has been changed for the March 29 elections, as the number of contested parliamentary seats has increased from 120 to 210. In addition, four elections are being held simultaneously for the first time, including local government elections.
The election laws state that people will only be allowed to vote at the polling station situated in the ward to which they have been allocated. With the huge redrafting of constituencies and wards, many people still have no idea what ward they are in, said Makone...
Source: Sunday Tribune (RSA) [4]
SADC standards breached
- 4.1.4: Existence of updated and accessible voters roll;
- 7.3: [The member state holding elections shall] Establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral bodies staffed by qualified personnel …
- 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…
- 7.6: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the availability of adequate logistics and resources for carrying out democratic elections;
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
President Robert Mugabe 'raises the dead' to secure electoral victory in Zimbabwe
Source Date: 18-03-2008
Zimbabwe has the highest proportion of elderly voters in the world*, according to the voters' roll being used for elections next week.
A glance at one page of the roll yesterday for a ward in the Mount Pleasant suburb of Harare turned up a Fodias Kunyepa, who was born in 1901. Over the page was Rebecca Armstrong, born 1900.
Somewhat younger was Desmond Lardner-Burke, born 1909, who was the notorious Minister for Justice in the rebel Rhodesian Government … (He left the country soon after1980 and died shortly afterwards in South Africa)….
Opposition campaign workers say that the voters' roll is stuffed with the names of the dead, of non-existent people, of those with fake identity numbers and with names repeated numerous times in different constituencies, sometimes in the same ward.
That way, supporters of Mr Mugabe and his ruling Zanu PF party will be allowed by compliant electoral officials to vote repeatedly.
“It also means that when they stuff the ballot boxes, a huge majority will not appear unreasonable,” said one campaigner who asked not to be named….
“There's one [person at least 100 years old] on nearly every page of the voters' roll for Mount Pleasant,” said Trudy Stevenson, parliamentary candidate for one of the two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The roll has 212 pages with 55 names on each.
Before the last elections, in 2005, the MDC was able to get hold of CDs of the voters' rolls for 12 constituencies, subjected them to digital analysis and found that 45 per cent of the names on the list were false. Since then Tobaiwa Mudede, the Registrar-General, has kept a tight lid on the roll….
Note: *In 2006, the United Nations' World Health Organisation published a report stating that the life expectancy of a Zimbabwean woman by early 2006 was only 34 years, down from 62 in 1990. Life expetancy for men was 37 years. Since then, conditions have deteriorated significantly.
Source: Times, The (UK) [5]
SADC standards breached
- 2.1.6: Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
- 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
- 4.1.4: Existence of updated and accessible voters roll;
- 7.2: [The member state holding elections shall] Establish where none exist, appropriate institutions where issues such as ... would be addressed;
- 7.3: [The member state holding elections shall] Establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral bodies staffed by qualified personnel …
- 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
- 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
Electoral court refuses to hear MDC application
Source Date: 14-03-2008
Zimbabwe's Electoral Court on Thursday turned down an opposition application seeking an order compelling election authorities to disclose information pertaining to ballot papers printed for month-end polls, saying it did not have jurisdiction over the matter.
The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had wanted the court to order the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to disclose the number of ballot papers printed for the joint presidential, parliamentary and council elections on March 29.
The opposition party ... believes that more ballots were printed to allow for easier manipulation of the vote (and therefore wants) the court to order the ZEC to disclose the identity of the firm contracted to print ballot papers and for the commission to allow inspection and auditing of ballot papers.
The MDC also wanted the ZEC ordered to increase the number of polling stations in its stronghold urban areas. Analysts say fewer polling booths allocated in cities and towns could turn away voters (as happened in 2002 when tens of thousands of voters were turned away across the country.)...
The Electoral Court was set up to specifically hear disputes related to ... elections as part of reforms that were said would help speed up resolution of electoral disputes and enhance transparency in the country's election systems and processes.
Source: NewZimbabwe.com (ZW) [3]
SADC standards breached
- 2.1.7: Independence of the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral institutions …
- 7.2: [The member state holding elections shall] Establish where none exist, appropriate institutions where issues such as ... would be addressed;
- 7.3: [The member state holding elections shall] Establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral bodies staffed by qualified personnel …
- 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
- 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
Observers not allowed near ballot boxes
Source Date: 14-03-2008
(It has emerged that) domestic and international election observers will not be allowed to stay with the ballot boxes between the polling booth and the place where votes are counted, it has emerged.
In effect, this means that only the monitors assigned by the official Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), who are civil servants, will be able to deliver a verdict on how free and fair the elections have been.
Observers, on the other hand, will be given free access to observe the electoral process across the country, but their findings will not be taken into account by the ZEC.
Political observers say this is tantamount to the ZEC policing itself - and refusing any outside monitoring….
The Zimbabwe Government has only issued invitations to a few 'friendly' countries…. This raises serious doubts about the impartiality of the entire election observer process.
Source: Zimbabwean, The (ZW) [6]
SADC standards breached
- 2.1.7: Independence of the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral institutions …
- 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
- 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
- 6.1.1: Freedom of movement within the host country;
- 6.1.6: Unimpeded and unrestricted access to all polling stations and counting centres;
- 7.1: [The member state holding elections shall] Take necessary measures to ensure the scrupulous implementation of the above principles …
- 7.11: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure freedom of movement of the members of the SEOM …
- 7.19: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure that the members of the SEOM have an unimpeded and unrestricted access to all polling stations and counting centres.
- 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
Lawyers urge Mugabe to charge defence chief
Source Date: 12-03-2008
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has called on the state to prosecute the country's top military commander, General Constantine Chiwenga, for allegedly threatening voters to back President Robert Mugabe in elections at month-end...
The ZLHR said Chiwenga's statements were a violation of Sections 133B (c) and 134 (3) (b) of the Electoral Act which make it a criminal offence to intimidate people to vote for a particular candidate or use undue influence to force people to vote or not vote during an election.
In addition, Chiwenga had also breached the Southern African Development Community (SADC) guidelines under which member states are obliged to ensure that elections adhere to the principles of freedom of association and political tolerance...
Source: Zim Online (ZW) [7]
SADC standards breached
- 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
- 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
- 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
- 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
- 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
- 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
Mugabe in massive vote-buying handout of tractors, buses, cattle
Source Date: 09-03-2008
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has handed out millions of US dollars worth of imported brand new agricultural equipment, vehicles, generators and cattle in what critics said was a massive vote-buying exercise ahead of elections this month...
On Saturday, according to the ruling party-run Sunday Mail, Mugabe presided over the distribution of 300 40-seater buses, 500 tractors, 20 combine harvesters and a range of other modern farming machinery, as well as 50,000 ox-drawn ploughs and thousands of other peasant farming implements, 5,000 electricity generators, 3,000 mills for grinding maize, 680 motorcycles and 100,000 litres of diesel...
The newspaper did not say who received the goods, but in two similar handouts last year - where 25 million US dollars worth of farm equipment was distributed - the recipients have been identified mostly as cabinet ministers, legislators and ruling party bosses.
Human rights groups say they have evidence that the manual implements were given out in peasant farming areas only to people who could produce ruling party cards or chant ruling party slogans.
'Your vote will ensure you benefit from the agricultural mechanization programme,' Mugabe said last week...
Source: Monsters and Critics [8]
SADC standards breached
- 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
- 4.1.6: Funding of political parties must be transparent and based on agreed threshold.
- 7.2: [The member state holding elections shall] Establish where none exist, appropriate institutions where issues such as ... would be addressed;
- 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
- 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
MDC says Mugabe using food to buy votes
Source Date: 11-03-2008
Zimbabwe's opposition on Monday accused the government of using scarce food to buy votes,* barely 48 hours after President Robert Mugabe distributed millions of dollars worth of farm equipment in what critics said was an attempt to placate a disgruntled electorate.
Both factions of the ... Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party said politicization of food had become rampant in rural areas where in some cases entire communities rely on grain from the state-run Grain Marketing Board (GMB).
Some villagers who spoke to ZimOnline said the GMB - the only firm permitted to trade in maize and wheat - had since campaigning for the March 29 elections started in earnest about three weeks ago distributed food through traditional leaders known for supporting Mugabe and his ruling Zanu PF party...
*Note: The World Food Program estimated that, by January 2008, Zimbabwe's population (urban and rural) in need of food assistance would have risen to around 4.1million. Independent experts suggest the population could have dropped to as low as 7-8 million people.
Source: Zim Online (ZW) [9]
SADC standards breached
- 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
- 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
- 2.1.6: Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
- 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
- 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
- 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
- 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
Mugabe woos teachers with massive pay rise
Source Date: 14-03-2008
President Robert Mugabe's government has awarded teachers hefty salary increments of over 750 percents as it moved to placate restless workers ahead of a key election at the end of the month...
"We certainly wonder why the government left it until this late to give teachers what they are worth. The whole move smacks of an election gimmick to buy votes," said Raymond Majongwe, (secretary general of the Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe)...
Note: In ZEW issue 18, we reported that Mugabe had awarded huge pay rises to the military.
Source: Zim Online (ZW) [10]
SADC standards breached
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
Mugabe sees votes in black ownership law
Source Date: 09-03-2008
President Robert Mugabe... has signed into law the country's indigenisation legislation, empowering the state to take over control of foreign- and white-owned businesses... just three weeks before presidential and parliamentary elections...
... political analysts believe that the legislation would be used to win votes, in exactly the same way as the land takeovers were used for political gain in previous elections in 2000 and 2002.
Source: Financial Times, The (UK) [11]
SADC standards breached
- 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
- 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
- 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
- 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
We deserve better in these elections
Source Date: 14-03-2008
The public media is in violation of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections as it has failed to afford equal and unbiased coverage of the March 29 harmonised elections.
Media monitoring groups, analysts and opposition parties accused national broadcaster, the ZBC, and the Zimbabwe Newspapers Group (Zimpapers - 51% state owned) of biased reporting, qualitatively and quantitatively in favour of the ruling Zanu PF...
The public media were also accused of contravening provisions of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA).
The SADC guidelines require all political parties to have "equal access and opportunity to the state media." However, in Zimbabwe opposition parties have hardly been covered equitably by the public media as has been Zanu PF.
The Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ) has over the past month complained of what it termed unfair coverage of the pre-election period, especially in the public media. It called on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to put an end to the "intolerable" bias demonstrated by the national broadcaster, the ZBC, and the government controlled newspapers...
The MMPZ said between February 24 and March 2, ZTV devoted 64 minutes of news bulletins to reporting favourably on Zanu PF's campaigns, compared to just three minutes given to the two MDC factions and eight minutes to (independent presidential candidate) Dr Simba Makoni...
Source: Zimbabwe Independent, The (ZW) [12]
SADC standards breached
- 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
- 2.1.5: Equal access to state media for all political parties
- 2.1.8: Voter education.
- 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
- 7.3: [The member state holding elections shall] Establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral bodies staffed by qualified personnel …
- 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…
- 7.6: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the availability of adequate logistics and resources for carrying out democratic elections;
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
Opposition candidates allege ruling party political violence
Source Date: 13-03-2008
Zimbabwean parliamentary candidate Rainos Tivatye of the United People's Party, who seeks the house seat for Zengeza East, Harare Metropolitan Province, said he was assaulted on Tuesday by youth militants of the ruling Zanu PF party.
Now receiving medical care, Tivatye ... told VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that police briefly detained the youths but released them without charges.
Identified victims: Parliamentary candidate Rainos Tivatye of the United People's Party
Source: VOANews (USA) [13]
SADC standards breached
- 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
- 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
- 2.1.6: Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
- 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
- 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
- 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
- 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…
- 7.7: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure that adequate security is provided to all parties participating in elections;
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
5 MDC members hospitalised after Mbare attack by Zanu PF youth
Source Date: 13-03-2008
Violence against officials and members of the opposition has intensified, despite the arrival of a regional observer team in Harare on Wednesday.
At least 5 supporters of the Tsvangirai MDC were hospitalised on Wednesday after they were attacked by a gang of youths known to be Zanu PF members in Mbare high-density suburb of Harare. One of the victims, Simba Maringwa, is reported to be in intensive care battling for his life.
MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said a group of about 200 Zanu PF supporters, affiliated with the infamous Mbare gang called Chipangano, ambushed 20 MDC supporters as they were campaigning for MDC candidate Piniel Denga in Mbare.
Tendai Savanhu, Zanu PF candidate for Mbare, has been implicated in this incident...
Several MDC members were wounded seriously and were taken to the Avenues Clinic in Harare...
Identified perpetrators: Tendai Savanhu, Zanu PF candidate for Mbare has been implicated
Identified victims: Simba Maringwa, Trymore Matsitsira, Wellington Chigumaze, Jeffrey Chikwavayera and Mazhinji
Source: SW Radio Africa (ZW) [14]
SADC standards breached
- 2.1.1: Full participation of the citizens in the political process;
- 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
- 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
- 2.1.6: Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
- 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
- 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
- 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
- 7.7: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure that adequate security is provided to all parties participating in elections;
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
Sekai Holland detained in Zimbabwe
Source Date: 14-03-2008
Sekai Holland, an MDC national executive member and aspiring Senator for Chizhanje constituency, was today detained without charge for two hours at Harare Central Police Station for what the police said was in connection with the aborted prayer meeting in Highfield on 11 March 2007.
Holland, who is in her late 60s, was savagely beaten up and hospitalised, together with other political and civic leaders last year...
Holland's leg would have been amputated if she had not sought specialist treatment.
On Wednesday, Holland made an emotional address at a public meeting to commemorate the state brutality of 11 March in which she narrated her horrific ordeal at the hands of the police...
The police released Holland after harassing her for more than five hours...
Identified victims: Sekai Holland
Source: MDC (MT) Press Release [15]
SADC standards breached
- 2.1.6: Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
- 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
- 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
- 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
- 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …
- 7.9: [The member state holding elections shall] Encourage the participation of women, disabled and youth in all aspects of the electoral process …