The wife of the President has fled with enough
foreign exchange to feed the whole country for 6 months, an election has
been held under totally unacceptable conditions. The results – legally due
in 6 days, are 14 days over due. The incumbent has illegally appointed a
government, holds onto power and deployed the army to maintain his grip on
the populace. He has ordered illegal and unconstitutional activities. The
economy is at a standstill, a national strike is threatened, there is no
food in the stores and what is available is at unaffordable prices. Yet Mr.
Mbeki climbs down from his luxury executive jet in Harare, embraces Mugabe
and declares, “There is no crisis”.
How difficult is it to tabulate 9 400 V11 forms and get a result? Would that
take any group of children more than a day? Those forms are the only basis
on which these elections can be determined. They are all in Harare and the
result of the count and recount is available – has been available for two
weeks. “The results are too sensitive to release,” says the ZEC. Why,
because, they show that Mugabe has been soundly thrashed and his main
opponent has got more than 50 per cent of the vote.
Then onto Lusaka where 13 regional leaders have gathered for an emergency
summit to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe “where there is no crisis!”.
They debate the situation for several hours – late into the night. Then
issue a communiqué that declares that ZEC must release the results
expeditiously. The illegal regime in Harare promptly announced they would
defy the region, hold up the announcement until they had recounted 23
constituencies next Saturday.
In the meantime here in Harare MDC went to Court to demand that the illegal
recounts ordered by the regime and due to take place yesterday, be suspended
pending our application to the Courts to the effect that the act is illegal
and unconstitutional. The Court agreed and stopped all the recounts. Even so
they went ahead in Bikita and duly announce that the new count showed,
surprise, surprise that a MDC victory had been overturned and that Zanu PF
had won!
Remember we have been excluded from the counting of the V11 forms for the
presidency; ZEC has barred all independent observers and even moved the
whole operation to a secret “high security” venue. They have had the ballot
boxes under their control for 14 days, rumors are flying that they have
printed ballots with the same numbers on them as those used in the original
election, they have also contacted a number of the returning officers who
have been intimidated and even arrested. They are perfectly capable of
falsifying the V11 forms and the ballots themselves.
Under these conditions a recount is a complete farce. One interesting
feature of the statement by the regime in Harare yesterday was that it was
only the presidential ballot that would be recounted in 23 constituencies.
Originally they listed 25 constituencies – no explanation of the
differential. Does this mean they are going to allow the parliamentary vote
and the local government votes to stand as they are?
They are committed to a re-run in 21 days after the final result is
announced. That will be on the 10th May – six weeks after the first
election. Six weeks of turmoil and mayhem simply because an old man and his
cohorts will not obey their own rules and constitution and leave office in
an orderly and peaceful way. All the rules of the SADC for this sort of
thing are being violated and blatantly so in front of the whole world. But
then Kibaki stole the Presidential election in Kenya and has been allowed by
the international community and Africa to get away with it.
Our own position at present is that we will not accept a re-run. But what is
the alternative? To go onto the streets and fight for our rights? The
illegal regime in Harare holds all the guns and levers of control. Does
blood have to spill to bring the UN into the situation; do principle and the
rule of law matter to nobody but us?
We always knew that the solution to this crisis was in our hands and that
the international community simply would not interfere or intervene unless
we started killing each other. The regional leaders who have the power to
influence the regime in Harare and who established mechanisms for just such
an eventuality have once again failed us. South Africa under present
leadership is inept and compliant.
So what do we do? We may simply have to bite the bullet and accept a re-run.
What if they recount 23 constituencies and hey presto! Produce a victory
for Mugabe! Then we have real problems because then we have no alternative
but to fight for our rights and a bloody and extended conflict will ensue
that will draw in the UN and the international community and finally destroy
what is left of this benighted country.
If they compromise and do force a re-run, then the very least that the
region can do is deliver reasonable conditions – stop the present wave of
violence and intimidation that is regime managed and funded, order
independent observers into the country to monitor the election and ensure
that ZEC is allowed to do its job properly, professionally and without
interference or coercion.
On our side, we would have to struggle on trying to survive the next few
weeks and get our people ready. We would have to train and deploy up to 20
000 polling agents and make sure they were in position at every polling
station without exception. That will take money, real money and at least
1000 volunteers with vehicles and communications equipment. But we can do
that and then deliver a final blow to this regime from which they simply
cannot recover and then, we can get on with the task ahead of us.
Perhaps we need to do this even though it seems unthinkable at this stage –
and then get final closure on this shameful episode. Its clear, Africa has a
long way to go before it can say it observes democratic practices and
principles despite all the high sounding rhetoric.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 13th April 2008
Post published in: News