Diplomatic sources said this week that SADC leaders were engaged in behind-the-scenes manoeuvres to pressure Mugabe to allow a genuine election to take place.
They said President Jacob Zuma was working hard with SADC chairman Hifikepunye Pohamba to ensure Zimbabwe complies with the regional bloc’s election guidelines before the crucial poll. An undisputed election is regarded by many Southern African leaders as a priority in the battle to resolve the long-running political and economic crisis.
A low-level SADC delegation of the Troika Organ from South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique is due to arrive in Harare soon to assess whether Zimbabwe is complying with the election roadmap guidelines.
The roadmap is tailored according to the bloc’s protocol on elections adopted in 2004. This requires member states to hold regular, free and fair elections. While Zanu (PF) elements in government insist the country is complying with the SADC guidelines – through a purportedly independent electoral commission – Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC says the reforms are piecemeal and cosmetic.
The SADC Troika Team was appointed to work with Zimbabwe’s Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee at the recent Sandton summit. It aims to establish clear time-lines and report progress to the next SADC Summit, scheduled for Luanda in August.
Zuma has himself held several meetings with both MDC formations and Zanu (PF), in a bid to establish consensus on election rules.
Surprisingly blunt comments by Zuma on the need for Mugabe to level the playing field ahead of the general elections expected in March, have given the MDC a boost. But no more than that.
The MDC insists it will only contest the poll if Zanu (PF) fully implements the regional electoral guidelines and the GPA. Mugabe says he has already done so, but MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora disagrees. The next poll, he says, will be run not by an independent electoral commission as stipulated by the SADC, but by Mugabe-appointed registrar-general Tobaiwa Mudede.
This, he says, means Zimbabwe will hold "by far the most uneven elections in the region". Mudede said last week the voters register was fine and dismissed questions about the integrity of the roll.
The SADC principles include freedom of association, equal opportunity for all parties to access the state media, impartial electoral institutions, voter education, an independent judiciary and the right of candidates to challenge results in the courts.
It also prescribes a 5-day deadline for election results announcements. Virtually none of these conditions applies in Zimbabwe. Legal challenges are allowed, but those launched by the MDC, some dating back to the 2000 election, have still not been resolved.
The MDC is unhappy too with the delimitation of constituencies. The voters roll "is a shambles" and years out of date, says National Constitutional Assembly chairman Lovemore Maduku. The roll shows 5,65m people out of a total population of 11,4m will be allowed to vote – with the roll replete with dead voters, centenarians and 10-year-olds. This provides ample opportunity for electoral fraud.
The MDC has absolutely no faith in Mugabe's promise to crack down on violence.
Opposition activists and NGOs hope the troika will build on Zuma's remarks, demanding that elections be delayed until mid next year or even 2013 so observer teams and institutions are in place well in advance of polling.
Post published in: Africa News