Have the homeless been disenfranchised?
March 4th, 2008
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights sent out this press release today, concerning the residents of Hopley Farm. Read this link for more about Operation Murambatsvina. Both the images above can be downloaded from our Flickr account in high resolution format.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) expresses its deep concern and anger at the continuing miserable state of affairs at Hopley Farm just outside Harare. The continued desperation of people residing there has become all the more acute in light of the upcoming elections. Hopley Farm is an area to which destitute and generally deprived people were taken in the wake of Operation Murambatsvina which caused alarming levels of economic, social and now political dislocation. The travails of this displaced community are many:
- The residents of Hopley Farm have experienced serious problems in being able to register to vote. Some were advised that they are aliens and therefore are barred from registering in continuing misinterpretation of Zimbabwe’s citizenship laws. Others were told they needed as proof of residence a letter confirming their residency at Hopley Farm from the local authority on the ground. This local authority is the District Chairman of the local ZANU-PF Committee who gave his letter of authority with an arbitrariness which was generally linked to his position as an office-bearer for the ruling party. It was only after affected residents registered complaints with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) that some were able to register.
- A transparent and elected Residents’ Committee has been informed that is has been dissolved by ruling party cadres and members are harassed when they attempt to carry out their functions.
- Food and other aid is allegedly being grabbed for political purposes with confirmation of political allegiance allegedly required if one is to benefit from this aid. Distribution of any aid that does come has been taken over by the ruling party cadres.
- Donors who sourced food aid have allegedly been banned from the community and there are reports (which ZLHR is currently seeking to verify) that some individuals have died of starvation.
ZLHR notes the failure of Hopley Farm residents to register. This is sad vindication of our warnings during the forced evictions that such disenfranchisement would occur due to the Operation. It begs the simple question – are the homeless disentitled from voting … in which case creating homelessness as happened with Operation Murambatsvina amounts to deliberate disenfranchisement by the party in power.
The requirement for proof of residence from an office-bearer of a contesting party who manipulates the procedure is shameless proof of absence of the rule of law and manipulation of the electoral process which does not augur well for any hopes of a free and fair election. Also notable is the refusal to allow residents to be represented by the persons they elect. Shameful as it is, it is merely a replication of the city level position where the citizenry was to the very end disenfranchised of their right to city-level mayoral representation. In the broader national context of past elections whose results have been contested, this repudiation of democratic values is merely symptomatic of a national democratic deficit.
ZLHR notes the abuse of poverty struck individuals and wishes to state categorically that should the allegations regarding starvation as a result of manipulation of food aid be true, they could amount to serious crimes at both local and international law.
In the circumstances, ZLHR calls upon:
- ZEC and the office of the Registrar-General to investigate the allegations that some poverty-stricken people were barred from registering to vote by the deprivation of proof of residence or misinterpretation of citizenship laws, and take swift corrective measures;
- ZEC to take action as required in terms of their mandate to investigate allegations of electoral misconduct, including manipulation of food aid to secure votes or dissuade voters from supporting the party of their choice
- All person involved in voter intimidation, harassment, vote-buying and other such activities to forthwith cease such conduct
- All person interfering with the rights of persons to life and food to forthwith cease such conduct
- The government to take action to protect persons living on the edge at Hopley Farm and ensure that their fundamental right to participation in government is protected and that they are not deprived of basic sustenance
- Humanitarian organizations and the international community to take action to ensure that persons at Hopley Farm obtain urgent humanitarian assistance.
