Baseline conditions must be met by the authorities if a second Presidential election is to be at all acceptable in law and practice
BASELINE CONDITIONS MUST BE MET BY THE AUTHORITIES IF A SECOND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS TO BE AT ALL ACCEPTABLE IN LAW AND PRACTICE
ZLHR Press Statement: 4 May 2008
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has noted the announcement of the results of the presidential elections by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on 2 May 2008 after an unprecedented delay of over one month.
ZLHR has previously made its position clear in relation to the adverse impact of the delayed announcement by ZEC on the credibility of any result announced. The delay has been unacceptable and, together with the arrest and detention of over 120 ZEC officers, the lack of transparency in the electoral process (especially post-voting day), and the ever escalating retributive political violence, has ensured that this result is and remains disputed and of no value to those who voted on 29 March 2008 for a return to the rule of law, peace and democracy in Zimbabwe.
Be that as it may, in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act as amended, as no presidential candidate received an absolute majority on 29 March 2008, there is now need for a second election within 21 days of the declaration of the result by ZEC on 2 May 2008.
Should the two presidential candidates agree to participate in the second election, there is a need to be clear on exactly what issues need to be addressed in order for such election to conform, at the most minimum level, to Zimbabwean constitutional and electoral norms and regional and international standards, most particularly the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
ZLHR wishes to make it clear that the following issues need to be addressed as a matter of the utmost urgency:-
- Immediate cessation of all political violence in Zimbabwe, especially at the local community level, by all state actors, and non state actors acting with the acquiescence of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, commanders and officers of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (especially the Law and Order section and the riot squad), the Zimbabwe National Army, the Central Intelligence Organization, the Police Internal Security Intelligence, so-called war veterans and graduates of the National Youth Service.
- Immediate comprehensive public statements using print (all publicly-owned newspapers throughout the country) and electronic media (state television and all four state-controlled radio stations) by the “Minister” of Home Affairs, the Commissioner-General of Police, the Commander of the Defence Forces, the Commander of the Air Force, and the Commissioner of Prisons, denouncing all forms of political violence, instructing their subordinates to cease all such violence, and assuring voters that they will all be protected, no matter their political affiliation, and that all perpetrators will be brought swiftly to justice to ensure that impunity is fought.
- Immediate access to all victims of political violence by lawyers, medical practitioners, humanitarian organizations and other groups to provide emergency and ongoing support services and to ensure their safety throughout the second election period and beyond.
- An immediate and public guarantee by the “Minister” of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, of the institutional and individual independence of the judiciary, especially the judges of the Electoral Court so that they can carry out their constitutional functions without fear or favour.
- The immediate entry into Zimbabwe of expanded regional and international observer missions, especially those of SADC, COMESA, PAP, AU and the UN, who will be allowed full access to all areas of the country, and who can ensure, amongst other things, that ZEC, through its officers on the ground at each and every polling station, is able to perform its constitutional functions transparently and without fear or favour.
- The immediate cessation of the continuing arrests of ZEC presiding officers and other election officers, the withdrawal of all charges against those already arrested, and their immediate release from detention.
- A public undertaking and order to all law enforcement agents by the “Minister” of Home Affairs and the Commissioner-General of Police that ZEC officers will not be targeted and their safety and security will be guaranteed during the second election and in the aftermath thereof.
- The immediate cessation of attacks on civil society organizations and individuals working therein, and all other human rights defenders, especially those involved in human rights, electoral and civic education activities, by state actors and non state actors acting with the acquiescence of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, commanders and officers of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (especially the Law and Order section and the riot squad), the Zimbabwe National Army, the Central Intelligence Organization, the Police Internal Security Intelligence, so-called war veterans and graduates of the National Youth Service.
- Assurance that all local observers will be allowed to continue with their observation obligations as stipulated by law and increase their numbers of accredited observers if they feel it is necessary, to ensure state compliance with electoral law and procedure at all times, especially, but not limited to, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and its member organizations.
- Strict compliance by the authorities with the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Electoral Act, especially as regards the posting of results outside polling stations immediately after counting and tabulation has been effected, and the timely announcement of results.
- Immediate and equal access by both presidential candidates and their representatives to the publicly-owned media (print and electronic) and immediate cessation of inciting hate speech and propaganda, and false information.
ZLHR wishes to finally make it very clear that there will be zero tolerance for any attempts by the incumbent president to utilize his disputed and unconstitutional powers or any other means to amend in any way the current electoral laws and process, most particularly the time-frame within which any second election must be held – the deadline of which is on or before 24 May 2008. In addition, the ZEC must ensure that it complies strictly with its obligations in this regard and does not seek to unlawfully justify the further delay of this electoral process.
May 5th, 2008 17:29
Hope…If you are as determined to monitor this election as you say…..then a fund to buy mobile web phones with cameras will be of extreme importance. Pix of violence, electoral intimidation and results can be transmitted outside Zim for collation and distribution to the media as it happens.
I will be happy to kick start it with $50 USD
Dave
May 5th, 2008 17:42
TODII? SENZENJANI? WHAT SHALL WE DO?
Ini ndaneta manje. VaMugabe havamboteereri zvese zvatinotaura. Tingazvidini ko , kukura. Harahwa dzagara dzinenharo. Indoda le ilenkani impela. Ubokhosi ngama zolo kodwa ixhegu leli lifuna ukufela esikhundleni. Awu bakithi, senze njani. Umdala wasitshiyela udubo.Manje sesizo bulawa njalo njesikhathi se Gukurahundi…. Time will tell
May 5th, 2008 17:44
They have a good list. zpf should feel shame that a list like this needs to be written. Even if one group thinks a list like this should be written and made public it is shaming. How many countrys in the world have demands like this made about their governments. I sick of zpf. They must go.
May 5th, 2008 17:55
Dave: Kind of you to offer. I think that solution depends how long the network stays up - phone calls now on our network are nearly impossible. It also depends on whether its even viable. A friend of mind visiting from overseas was unable to successfully send even one picture on his phone out the country while he was here.
In the meanwhile, I received an email today saying money was needed to buy sutures and bandages for the injured, and I was also told that those who were made homeless needed blankets. It’s getting cold here again. Money is always about priorities.
Sok does not have money collecting facilities for human rights, but if you can find and identify a non partisan impartial fund for humanitarian help, it might be an idea to leave it in the comments here.
Hope
May 5th, 2008 18:27
A short version of the list is
GIVE UP NOW
He has lost twice and is now saying he needs to lose 3 times in order to lose. This is poor argument for spending the election money and having violence when the outcome is clear. He used to beat people to prove he won. Now he beats them because he lost — this is bizarre argument that even his friends can see is tortured logic.
“A trillion dollars here, a trillion dollars there — pretty soon it adds up to serious money.” Better he go now.
If his veneer of authority can be stripped away, maybe he won’t be able to get away with it. He is a piece of cardboard carton wearing spectacles.
But if you have to do it, ideal is go into such an election with everybody in Z knowing that Rigger Robber Double Loser Mugabe lost twice even though he did everything in his power to steal.
He used to be good at stealing. Now he cannot even steal properly. A woman had two children in jail. “Rich steals cars and wrecks them. But Robert,” she says, pride swelling, “Robert has not wrecked even one!”
This time, Robert, you wrecked it, you lost it, you lost it again, you stole it. You wrecked it.
In baseball, STRIKE THREE and you are out. In your country, three doves or chickens together deliver some message to the home.
What is the Shona phrase for “He’s finished,” delivered in Zvimba dialect or slang?
What do people say when a relative has visited too long?
When they want him out the door without burning the house down?
What is the proverb for an old man who retires to his rural home, wishing to live out his last days in enjoyment around family, free from worry and responsibility?
Zimbabwe needs to recover and move on from this geriatric spasm. Bob, we’re all afraid of growing old and mortality. Relax and you can live out your years to be buried in Heroes Acre as you wish.
May 5th, 2008 18:30
Sokwanele,
I am standing by to do an internet bank transfer if you give me a verifiable account and address. Am afraid, I can’t do it straight to Zim though. I would have thought a huge effort by the diaspora would have been underway by now to help the victims of this latest ZANU madness.
May 5th, 2008 19:06
The charity below fits your description and is non-partisan. It’s in the UK unfortunately but at least the charity commissioners will ensure probity.
Let me know if you want to pursue this.
Dave
http://www.zbf.org.uk/projects.php?id=9
May 5th, 2008 21:07
@Sokwanele
War veterans get hefty pay hikes.
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1495981/
‘May 05, 2008 (Zimbabwe Standard/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) — – THE government has raised war veterans’ monthly allowances from $1.6 billion to $9 billion, The Standard can report.
Independent analysts speculated on the probability of this being President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF’s gesture of gratitude to the war veterans for their ongoing campaign against opposition supporters.’
May 6th, 2008 09:24
Mugabe will hang on till “death do us part”. When backed by the likes of Mbeki who was supposed to mediate this hole process & has failed to do so shows his attachment to Mugabe along with most SADC members. These people still pondor over liberation which died out decades ago & do not believe in a Democratic Government.
In fact you need to consitrate on the army, police etc who are behind this “Mugabe standing for a sixth term” and its only to procect themselves from prsocution.
Cricket.
May 6th, 2008 23:37
By usurping the SECs authority, and acting unconstitutionally soon after the election, and by closing down the Command Centre and spiriting away the ballot boxes for a period of three weeks to and unknown destination, Zanu-PF have forfeited normal rights to a second round unless an outside monitoring force is present to prevent such activities re-occurring. The question then arises: Which outside forces will organize this programme and will Mugabe forces resist the umpirical programme by armed resistance?
May 7th, 2008 10:03
True Grit,
Can’t you see what’s going on? ZANU does not intend to lose this round and that means it will not allow anyone ( external observers included) to stand in the way, period! You have seen the extent to which they are prepared to go and get ready to see more of the same in the coming weeks and months.You ain’t dealing with run of the mill mental delinquents here especially with Mbeki as cheerleader.
Just look at the mass court challenge they have launched and the Chief Justice dutifully obliging by appointing more judges; get ready for more upsetting news. I have spoken of a different space to wage this fight and I think people better start thinking about what that space should be.
I am quiting rational thought in favor of divine intervention ( it least for now).
May 7th, 2008 13:24
Mambo,
Yes, they are delinquents, thinking they can make hay for themselves, and only succeeding in making hell, when the sun shines. Their evil purpose is to continue the promotion of the ruins of their discredited regime. Historically it only requires enough outsiders not to like what they are doing, and would plainly continue to do if left undisturbed, for such regimes to be toppled for something more constructive. In that sense no house, tribe, village, community or country is completely isolated from the sanity and authority of the world. Not even Mugabe and his henchmen. Ultimately, there is always a way. The solution will present itself and the New Zimbabwe will emerge.
May 7th, 2008 20:45
@ mambo
Offer honest suggestions please do…
Unfortunately the trouble with the opposition in Zimbabwe is that its full of people that think Zimbabwe is akin to Selma Alabama in the days of MLK …or Ghandis colonial India…circa 1947.
The blind lead the impotent with the rhetoric of blind optimism that seems to defeat reality at every turn…
But two questions just wont go away ….
1) In 10 years have any utopian schemes actually worked to undermine the Military regime in ANY significant way?
2) Knowing what type of creature ZANU PF is and knowing full well that ALL the events of the past few months were actually seen well in advance…How can people honestly justify seeking to counter that known quantity with ideas and methods that continue to leave that regime intact…year after year?
The Zimbabwean people are placed as helpless hopeless, powerless without agency…but for whose real benefit??? This issue is about using all solutions to end this evil not merely people outside Zimbabwe placing people inside Zimbabwe in an endless… meat grinder because of a utopian social experiment…that they cant even apply to bring any real change to their own societies…..So long as there are voices of commonsense telling the harsh and often bitter facts….No one can say they were not warned…or they for their stubborness do not hold part of the blame.
May 8th, 2008 11:30
If Mugabe and Zanu-PF were to crown their current acts of violence and intimidation towards innocent citizens by ultimately declaring that they have won the 2008 elections, and intend to rule as before, it will become a universally regarded terrorist regime. The interpretation of terrorism by a state is when that state uses intimidation of the public for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, or ideological cause.
There are international courts of justice who are sanctioned and able to deal with such regimes, and the individuals behind them. The USA, UK, and EU would pay particular attention to the verdict that such a court would bring regarding its assessment, and to what extent the Mugabe regime will have erred in law.
May 8th, 2008 19:05
It is now quite painfully obvious the military has been running the country since 2000. How else do you explain their extraordinary threats against Morgan in 2000 and most recently that they would not salute him if he won. And how else can you explain their presumptuous statements if it is not to own up to the reality their civilian front ( Bob) is a burnt out?
I don’t believe these guys mean it when they say they love to death their manic “leader”. What the military is subtly (or rather in a convoluted manner) telling the whole world and Morgan in particular is …….don’t mess with us we are the real power here - and the current spasmodic violence is a true indicator of that power. The military needs Mugabe there to maintain a veneer of civility ( they wouldn’t want SADC us hapless citizens to know about their perfidy would they?)
Morgan alone will not dislodge ZANU and it is now painfully clear the ballot route is as useless an option as you can have. As Zimbabweans we seem to be the only people on this God’s earth who cannot remove a decadent regime by democratic means.
The space I am talking about is the diplomatic front ( forgive me if I appear to be contacting my earlier thread)- and the diaspora has an excellent opportunity to mobilize a diplomatic assault against ZANU in every significant capital, to harangue, plead, articulate and show moral courage that Zimbabwe needs to be free of this abomination. To do this we must own up to the very fact that we are up against an edifice which we cannot move alone.
This is not about demonstrations in front of diplomatic missions but mobilizing grass roots support for our cause and which should force foreign governments to act. There are 3-5 million of us outside and if we could all be organized under some platform- I am convinced we could finally deliver the knock-out blow- think about the economic clout we have and the havoc it could wreak on ZANU’s mad economic policies. Think about the the international revulsion we could generate by giving our compelling testimony of the slow suffocating death of a nation. And most of these governments have an interest in getting us back home- we are an additional cost they cannot sustain for long.
It is about time the diaspora is heard loud and clear. I am all for a Great Indaba to launch a worldwide movement specifically designed to drive Mugabe out of the community of nations, to harass, shame and show the lies his so-called Ambassadors trot out every time they open their mouths- in short to silence him while tightening the screws.
In tandem, its about time we stopped equivocating on the issue of mass human rights violations and the concomitant penalties. We have the names of the perpetrators and why not begin the process of indictment at the Hague and let the regime know there is a heavy cost when all this is over.- Never mind this might cause the it to dig in but I say it will be worth the digging because we will bury them in their self-made graves. Let them feel the heat from every corner of the globe.
One last thing, I am confused about:
1. At what point did Chiweshe know he did not have the money to organise a run-off? In other words why did he announce it at all if there is no money to hold it?
2. Why is everybody ( the international community included) talking about a run -off when the MDC is saying the results were cooked and this needs correcting? Why is everyone believing ZANU’s assertions and that of the ZNSE ( which now says it is no longer sure of the authenticity of the presidential results anyway)? Why is everyone taking the run-off thing at face value when the MDC is saying the vote was stolen? Why is no-one taking the MDC’s claims of fraud seriously ?
3. If the run-off does not produce a clear winner ( assuming ZANU bungles its rigging as it did this time) what next? Another run-off of a run-off?
3. Can anyone tell me why we should think SADC and AU will happily assist the MDC unseat Mugabe? It would be unprecedented in the history of African politics- I say.