Preliminary Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group to the Presidential Election in Zimbabwe 9 – 10 March 2002
14 March 2002
Four decades ago, the Commonwealth dedicated itself to work collectively towards bringing about democracy to the countries of southern Africa. This commitment remains true today and applies to the crisis affecting Zimbabwe.It was in this spirit that Commonwealth countries engaged with Zimbabwe at Abuja last year to help resolve the land issue. It was also in this spirit that the Commonwealth accepted the invitation of the Government of Zimbabwe to send observers to the 2002 Presidential election.
The Commonwealth Observer Group consists of 42 Observers and 19 staff from the Commonwealth Secretariat. Our terms of reference enjoin us to consider the various factors impinging on the credibility of the electoral process as a whole and to determine in our judgement whether the conditions existed for a free expression of will by the electors and if the results of the elections reflect the wishes of the people of Zimbabwe.
Our teams returned to Harare yesterday, 13 March, from their deployment to the ten provinces of the country. We carried out a thorough de-briefing during which we discussed not only what took place on the election days (9 - 11 March) but the electoral system, the legal framework, the political background and most importantly the campaign period leading up to the elections.
We shall be submitting a full Report of our findings, conclusions and recommendations to the Commonwealth Secretary-General. This Report will be made public in due course. In the meantime, we would like to make a short preliminary statement on our observations.
We were deeply impressed by the determination of the people of Zimbabwe to exercise their democratic rights, very often under difficult conditions. At polling stations across the country, voters queued patiently and peacefully, and sometimes for very long hours. We were also impressed by the professionalism and conscientiousness of the majority of the polling staff, many of whom also had to work for very long hours without rest.
However, it was clear to us that while the actual polling and counting processes were peaceful and the secrecy of the ballot was assured, the Presidential election in Zimbabwe was marred by a high level of politically motivated violence and intimidation, which preceded the poll. While violent acts were carried out by supporters of both of the main political parties, it is our view that most of these were perpetrated by members / supporters of the ruling party against members / supporters of the opposition.
We were particularly concerned about the activities of paramilitary youth groups organised under a 'National Youth Training Programme'. Members of these groups were responsible for a systematic campaign of intimidation against known or suspected supporters of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, MDC. The violence and intimidation created a climate of fear and suspicion.
Members of our Group found that very often the police did not take action to investigate reported cases of violence and intimidation, especially against known or suspected supporters of the MDC. Indeed, they appeared to be high-handed in dealing with the MDC and lenient towards supporters of the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front, ZANU-PF. This failure to impartially enforce the law seriously calls into question the application of the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
We were concerned that the legislative framework within which the elections were conducted, particularly certain provisions of the Public Order and Security Act and the General Laws Amendment Act, was basically flawed. Limitations on the freedom of speech, movement and of association prevented the opposition from campaigning freely.
We further regret the restrictions placed on civil society groups, which effectively barred this important sector from participation in the democratic process. In particular we consider that unnecessary restrictions were placed on the deployment of independent domestic observers.
We also found that thousands of Zimbabwean citizens were disenfranchised as a result of the lack of transparency in the registration process and the wide discretionary powers of the Registrar-General in deciding who is included in or omitted from the electoral register.
It is our view that the ruling party used its incumbency to exploit state resources for the benefit of its electoral campaign. This was compounded by the Government's near monopoly of the broadcast media - a factor which was not offset by the bias of most of the privately-owned print media in favour of the opposition MDC.
On polling day itself, many who wanted to cast their vote could not do so because of a significant reduction in the number of polling stations in urban areas. There was an inexplicable delay in complying with a High Court order to extend voting to 11 March. Voting in Harare and Chitungwiza was especially slow, leading to many voters being turned away even at the end of the third day. These problems were not evident in the rural areas.
All the foregoing brings us to the conclusion that the conditions in Zimbabwe did not adequately allow for a free expression of will by the electors.
In these circumstances, we call on all Zimbabweans to put aside their differences and to work together for the future of their country. We believe the Commonwealth should assist in the process of national reconciliation.
ENDS
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