Zim Government Undermines any Meaningful Prospect of Free and Fair Elections, Human Rights Watch (HR

 

In a 59-page report, the US-based group says Zimbabwe’s Electoral Commission is inadequately prepared to run the poll.

 

The report is based on research conducted over seven weeks across the country and in the Harare.  

In a report titled All Over Again Human Rights Abuses and Flawed Electoral Conditions in Zimbabwe’s Coming General Elections (HRW) documents how the government and the ruling party ZANU-PF, in the run up to the 2008 elections, have engaged in widespread intimidation of the opposition; have restricted freedom of association and assembly; and have manipulated food and farming equipment distribution to gain political advantage.

 

The report also documented biased media coverage in addition to numerous incidents of police and state-security violence against human rights activists and perceived opposition supporters throughout Zimbabwe.

Despite some improvements on paper to the election regulations, Zimbabweans aren’t free to vote for the candidates of their choice, said HRW Africa director Georgette Gagnon. He added: While there are four candidates running for president and many political parties involved, the election process itself is skewed.  

 

Zimbabweans will vote in harmonized presidential, parliamentary, senatorial, and local elections, the first since changes to Zimbabwe’s constitution in 2007.  

 H R W called on international observers, in particular those from SADC in Zimbabwe, to monitor the elections and to judge the political context in which the elections are being held, not just the electoral process itself. SADC observers should publicly, promptly, and clearly condemn failures to uphold regional and international standards according to the report  

 

The onus for reporting on violations in the 2008 elections rests with the observer mission and other African countries, said Gagnon. In the days remaining until the elections, they should urge the Zimbabwean government to allow electoral observers to visit all election sites and openly report on any election-related violence and intimidation.  

 

SADC’s post-election assessments of Zimbabwe’s last three elections were alarmingly positive despite the widespread human rights abuses and electoral irregularities that were documented by local and international organizations.  

 

HRW accused Zimbabwe police for perpetrating and committing acts of violence instead of safeguarding the rule of law

 

It is appalling that the police who are supposed to prevent abuses are committing them. The government’s failure to prosecute even one police officer or state security official responsible for such violence and intimidation has deepened the climate of fear in the country, , said Gagnon

 

The report also documents the government’s use of state-subsidized food and farming equipment as an electioneering tool.

 

H R W said it gathered more than 20 reports of government and ruling party officials using food and farming equipment to gain political advantage. Perceived political opponents of the ruling party or the government, including teachers, farmers and human rights activists have been denied access to food or farming equipment.  

The report also indicated that opposition candidates have found it almost impossible to access Zimbabwe’s state-controlled radio stations and television.

 

 For example, in the month of February 2008, state-owned television devoted five times more coverage to President Robert Mugabe and his ruling party than all the opposition combined.  

 

The report also highlights serious flaws in the country’s electoral procedures, in spite of changes to electoral laws. The flaws include a chaotic and thus easily abused voter-registration process, disenfranchisement of voters, and an unprepared, under-resourced, and partisan electoral commission. Despite a new and complex voting process, voter education around the country has been extremely poor.