Do Elections Work In
Zimbabwe ?-The Script Remains the Same
By Dumisani O. Nkomo
This article seeks to explore the efficacy of elections as a
tool of democratic governance in Zimbabwe since 1980 . It is by no means
exhaustive but in a brief and cursory
manner looks at the merits and demerits of elections in their current form in Zimbabwe. I would like to argue that
elections have been done ritually and religiously since 1980 but elections thus
far have failed to deliver democratic governance since 1980 . However,
elections are the only way in which leaders and governments can be put in place
in the absence of other alternatives they remain the only legitimate democratic
avenue of collective political expression. My argument is that there have to be
widespread electoral and political reforms before elections become a tool of
effective governance and conflict transformation. It is
however unlikely that the incumbents will be amenable to any reforms that may
erode or compromise their grip on power.
Brief History of Elections In Zimbabwe
Since 1980 election results have been disputed with the 1980
elections being held amidst allegations of widespread voter intimidation and
undue external influence on the electoral process. It was alleged by P.F ZAPU
that ZANU P.F had embarked on nationwide terror campaign in order to coerce
voters into electing their party into power. It was further alleged that a
large number of ZANLA combatants had not gone into designated Assembly Points
but instead ZANU had deployed a large number of Mujibhas and Chimbwidos into
the assembly points whilst trained guerrillas continued to cause havoc in many
rural areas .
The 1985 elections were held whilst the Gukurahundi
Massacres were underway and the main opposition [P.F ZAPU ]at that time had its
offices and operations curtailed . Most of their top leaders such as Sydney
Malunga , Vote Moyo , Steve Vuma ,Steven Nkomo as well as LookOut Masuku and
Dumiso Dabengwa were in detention . Central Intelligence Officials and the then
newly created notorious Police Internal Security Intelligence, the Youth
Brigades and the Fifth Brigade had lists of ZAPU officials in each district of
Matabeleland/Midlands and went village by
village wantonly killing abducting P.F ZAPU officials and the likes of Frasser Sibanda from Mpopoma [Bulawayo ]were abducted never to
be seen again . Elections were still held and surprisingly ZAPU won all fifteen
seats in Matabeleland but lost seats in the Midlands and Mashonaland West were
ZANU had targeted P.F ZAPU supporters . The elections then cannot
were not free and fair . In 1990 after the Unity Accord
the main opposition was the Zimbabwe Unity
Movement led by Edgar Tekere and his party was exposed to a lot of state
vagaries and brutalities with Patrick
Kombayi then a leading ZUM official being shot by intelligence agents . In
spite of a sterling performance ZUM was soundly beaten and the system of first
past the post ensured that they had few seats in parliament .
The 2000 parliamentary elections and 2002 Presidential Elections were some of the most
violent and unfair elections in the history of the country with the advent of
the Movement for Democratic Change . There was wide scale intimidation , murder
and abductions of opposition supporters and officials with the likes of David
Coltarts election agent Patrick Nabanyama being abducted and scores killed in
cold blood . The state media was brazenly partisan, chiefs were whipped into
line and land redistribution was done on partisan lines. Repressive and archaic
laws such as the Public Order and Security Act and the Access to Information
and Protection of Privacy Act were introduced.
The then Morgan Tsvangirai led M.D.C disputed the elections and filed
election petitions .
The same script happened in the 2008 elections where ZANU
P.F and their candidate Robert Mugabe were beaten in the elections by the M.D.C
. Election results were delayed and there was no outright winner according to
the electoral management body . The opposition complained bitterly and a run
off for the presidential elections was
held . After thousands of opposition supporters were beaten and abducted Morgan
Tsvangirai pulled out of the race . A political
and electoral impasse ensued and a
government of national unity was formed after mediation by South Africa’s Thabo
Mbeki .
In 2013 ZANU P.F won
both the parliamentary and presidential elections amidst of allegations of massive rigging which however
could not be proved . It was a scenario of everybody knowing that they had been pick pocketed but not being sure how
the electoral pickpocketing had been done . Of course there was also massive
internal structural , strategic and political discord in the opposition that contributed to the loss including
splitting of votes between the opposition parties . This aside the history of systematic
and smart militarization of electoral and political processes continued and has
become embedded in our collective electoral D.N.A .
This is not helped by
weak internal democracy within major opposition parties where more often
than not the most violent or corrupt end
up winning as candidates as evidenced in the last elections where the number of
women candidates decreased due to increased intra party violence .
The 2018 elections were predictably again disputed by the M
.D.C Alliance but it is pretty obvious that after a coup the incumbents were
not going to give away power on a silver platter .The new political
establishment , jettisoned into power through a military coup needed the
elections to be baptized and confirmed as legitimate whilst the opposition saw
it as a democratic opportunity to conquer power .It was obvious that at any and
every means the new /old political
military- political establishment needed to win the elections and they
made sure that they did because the consequences of losing after a military
takeover where monumental .
Once again for 2023
the script is the same . Party state conflation rules the roost , traditional leaders continue to be partisan
, food distribution is politicized , the composition of the ZEC secretariat is
questionable and state media is an extension of the ruling party . The first
part the post system continues marginalizing minority voices and so called
smaller parties with key geo political interests and positions will continue to
be side-lined. It is unlikely that the 2013 elections will deliver a different result.
The script remains the same . The actors can change but unless the script is
changed the results will be the same and Zimbabweans will be crying foul once again. Elections in
Zimbabwe are like as one person described “two lions and one sheep deciding
what to have for supper “.
I am not saying elections are useless but in the absence of
far reaching reforms such as :
1.
Independence of the electoral management body
2.
A clean
voters roll and a transparent process of voter registration
3.
Punitive measures for partisan traditional
leaders
4.
Depoliticization of food distribution and inputs
5.
Demilitarization of elections – especially involvement
in the electoral management body secretariat
6.
Media reform
7.
Respect for the constitution and upholding of
fundamental human rights .
8.
Deharmonizing local government elections from presidential
elections so that local government elections
focus on local issues , and quality meritocratic
leadership
9.
Proportional representation in parliament – it has its own disadvantages though
but the first past the post system entrenches big man politics .
In the absence of this elections are a mere
political ritual carried out religiously to legitimize incumbents at the altar
of political convenience
Mayibuye
Dumisani Nkomo writes here in his personal
capacity . He is an opinion leader, columnist and Chief Executive Officer of
Habakkuk Trust .He is also the vice chairman of the Zimbabwe Election Support
Network
Great piece
ReplyDeleteGreat piece...well articulated.
ReplyDelete