May 1, 2008 - May 24, 2008
Zanu-PF, MDC-T in 'frank' talks
Posted: Saturday, May 24, 2008
May 24, 2008
herald.co.zw
ZANU-PF and the MDC-T met in Harare yesterday to discuss conditions for the June 27 presidential election run-off and both expressed willingness to call for peaceful campaigns.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission facilitated the talks held at its offices under the multi-party liaison committee as it prepares for the June 27 presidential run-off and three House of Assembly by-elections.
The presidential run-off – pitting President Mugabe of Zanu-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai of MDC-T – will be held concurrently with by-elections in Gwanda South, Pelandaba-Mpopoma and Redcliff, where elections were deferred after a candidate in each constituency died after nomination.
In an interview last night, the multi-party liaison committee chairperson, Mrs Sarah Kachingwe, confirmed Zanu-PF and MDC-T representatives held "frank and constructive discussions".
"They discussed how they will campaign without causing violence and pledged to advise their supporters that it does not help to indulge in violence.
"The two political parties are saying they will come up with modalities on what they can do (on conflict resolution). These would be presented at our meeting next week," she said.
Mrs Kachingwe commended the two political parties for displaying maturity during the meeting.
"That is the spirit in which the multi-party liaison is supposed to do – talk frankly, friendly and constructively," she added.
The meeting was closed to the media when the discussions opened.
Zanu-PF election agent Cde Austin Chirisa represented the ruling party while Tsvangirai's chief election agent, Mr Christopher Mbanga, and the deputy organising secretary, Mr Morgan Komichi, represented the MDC-T.
Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka represented the police with ZEC director for polling Mr Ignatius Mushangwe and deputy director for public relations Mr Tendayi Pamire representing the electoral body.
In a meeting held before the closed-door session, Mrs Kachingwe said parties contesting in the run-off were invited for the multi-party meeting. "The business of the day would be centred on issues that pertain to the run-off and any other pertinent matters.
"We will discuss modalities on how they (contesting parties) should conduct themselves before, during and after the elections. We want players to play from the same rules. We also want to iron out problematic areas," said Mrs Kachingwe.
Mr Mushangwe indicated that the presidential run-off would be held concurrently with the Gwanda South, Redcliff and Pelandaba-Mpopoma House of Assembly by-elections.
These were not contested during the March 29 harmonised polls following the death of candidates from the Arthur Mutambara camp of the MDC who had been nominated for the constituencies.
Nomination courts sit on June 10 from 10am to 4pm at the Gwanda Magistrates' Court (Gwanda South constituency), Bulawayo Magistrates' Courts (Pelandaba-Mpopoma) and Gweru Magistrates' Courts (Redcliff).
"We are also going to have postal ballots opened and sealed on June 20, 2008. Voting would be ward-based," announced Mr Mushangwe.
On whether ZEC would maintain the same number of polling stations for the presidential run-off, Mr Mushangwe said the commission would discuss the matter with the contesting parties.
"As ZEC, we realised that the turnout at some polling stations was very low (in the March 29 elections). Some recorded two or seven voters. It is an issue we want to discuss with the candidates," he said.
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Zimbabwe: Battleground for true Uhuru
Posted: Friday, May 23, 2008
Herald Reporter
May 23, 2008
herald.co.zw
THE presidential election run-off in Zimbabwe should not be viewed as a simple election but the last battle between Western imperialism and absolute African liberation.
President Mugabe has become the epicentre of resistance against the express exploitation of Africa's rich resources by the West.
It would be foolhardy for anyone to believe that the election is only between President Mugabe and MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai because in essence the tried and tested ultimate warrior President Mugabe is the last bastion of African resistance against colonialism and neo-colonialism.
On the other hand, the West supports Tsvangirai because they see him as a man they can easily manipulate to gain access to Africa's life-saving resources. There are many Tsvangirais that have been created in Africa and have paved way for exploitation of their people and resources for the powerful dollar.
Battlelines have been drawn for June 27 and the West sees President Mugabe as the last obstacle in their attempts to overrun southern Africa that should fall and pave way for a more subtle form of colonialism which will give the West express rights over Africa's rich resources.
Everyone should know that the British and the Americans will not sleep as long as they see stumbling blocks in their endeavour to have maximum exploitation of Africa's natural resources.
The election in Zimbabwe can not be defined further than the fact that it is the true imperialist West versus true African resistance.
America and Britain are fighting Zimbabwe and indeed the whole of Africa to gain access to resources that gave their population better life while subjecting Africans to abject poverty on the pretext that their citizens are more superior than Africans.
The line of thought is that Africans have no right to those rich resources on their soil, as the resources should benefit the White West and advance their scandalous affluence at the expense of black Africans. Once a coloniser always a coloniser!
It is his defiance and resistance to white adventure that President Mugabe committed his "crime" against the Bush administration and Britain that has earned him all the terms such as dictator, despot and others. Once a liberator always a liberator!
Now Bush has set September as the deadline to establish the African command, a US military group permanently resident in Africa and is desperate to have it put in place before his term of office expires in November.
Africom will largely give the United States the much needed impetus to co-ordinate US resource exploitation in Africa, disguised as military co-operation.
Africa can only sleep at its own peril while the US creates bases that will eventually be used to deal with progressive governments and subsequently effective regime change that will give an express licence to resource exploitation.
To illustrate my point the Bush administration has solidified its militaristic engagement with Africa.
In February 2007, the Department of Defense announced the creation of a new US Africa Command infrastructure, code name AFRICOM, to "coordinate all US military and security interests throughout the continent."
"This new command will strengthen our security co-operation with Africa," President Bush said in a White House statement, "and create new opportunities to bolster the capabilities of our partners in Africa."
Ordering that AFRICOM be created by September 30, 2008, Bush said "Africa Command will enhance our efforts to bring peace and security to the people of Africa and promote our common goals of development, health, education, democracy, and economic growth in Africa."
The general assumption of this policy is that prioritising security through a unilateral framework will somehow bring health, education, and development to Africa.
In this way, the Department of Defense presents itself as the best architect and arbiter of US Africa policy.
According to Navy Rear Admiral Robert Moeller, director of the AFRICOM transition team, "By creating AFRICOM, the Defense Department will be able to
co-ordinate better its own activities in Africa as well as help coordinate the work of other U.S. government agencies, particularly the State Department and the US Agency for International Development."
This military-driven US engagement with Africa reflects the desperation of the Bush administration to control the increasingly strategic natural resources on the African continent, especially oil, gas, and uranium.
With increased competition from China, among other countries, for those resources, the United States wants above all else to strengthen its foothold in resource-rich regions of Africa.
While the Bush administration endlessly beats the drums for its "global war on terror," the rise of AFRICOM underscores that the real interests of neo-conservatives has less to do with al-Qaeda than with more access and control of extractive industries, particularly oil and land.
Responsibility for operations on the African continent is currently divided among three distinct Commands: US European Command, which has responsibility for nearly 43 African countries; US Central Command, which has responsibility for Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, and Kenya; and US Pacific Command, which has responsibility for Madagascar, the Seychelles, and the countries off the coast of the Indian Ocean.
Until December 2006 when the United States began to assist Ethiopia in its invasion of Somalia, all three existing Commands have maintained a relatively low-key presence, often using elite special operations forces to train, equip, and work alongside national militaries.
A new Africa Command, based potentially in or near oil-rich West Africa would consolidate these existing operations while also bringing international engagement, from development to diplomacy, even more in line with US military objectives.
Africa and indeed Zimbabweans must therefore, rise to the occasion and stand by President Mugabe as he stands eyeball to eyeball with the West in a ring match that will decide Africa's destiny.
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Zimbabwe: MDC-T terror gang nabbed
Posted: Friday, May 23, 2008
Herald Reporters
May 23, 2008
herald.co.zw
TWELVE suspected MDC-T thugs were arrested in Mutare yesterday after they were found in possession of axes, chain blades and sjamboks they were allegedly using to commit various acts of violence as they moved around in a pick-up truck belonging to the opposition party.
The arrests come just 24 hours before the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission today meets both Zanu-PF and MDC-T to examine how best the parties could peacefully resolve their differences ahead of the June 27 presidential election run-off.
ZEC chairperson Justice George Chiweshe and Acting Attorney-General Justice Bharat Patel yesterday condemned violence.
Justice Chiweshe said violence would not create a conducive atmosphere for a free and fair election while Justice Patel has urged the courts to deal with cases of political violence effectively and expeditiously.
The weapons allegedly used to commit acts of violence across the country were found hidden under the driver's seat and police have since impounded the vehicle — an Isuzu pick-up truck with an MDC logo — that was being used by the suspects.
The suspects, who hail from different parts of the country as far apart as Chipinge, Harare, Masvingo and Chinhoyi, were arrested after their intended victim escaped and alerted the police at Mutasa Central Police Station.
Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka said the police reacted swiftly to the tip-off and impounded the vehicle along Bonda Mission Road.
"We are reliably informed that these perpetrators are using marked or unmarked vehicles to terrorise people in the communities.
"They would go and perpetrate the acts of violence and retreat to their hidden bases, which we are still to establish," Chief Supt Mandipaka said.
Most of the suspects revealed that they were MDC-T polling agents in the Mutasa area during the March 29 harmonised elections.
Chief Supt Mandipaka said in most acts of violence reported, MDC-T thugs disguised themselves as Zanu-PF supporters by wearing the party's regalia and beating people to taint the party's name.
He said police have committed themselves to impounding all the vehicles that are being used in these activities.
"We are geared to thwart their hidden operating bases because we have noted that these perpetrators do not hail from one village and we strongly understand that they are carrying out these activities for payment."
The suspects were still detained at Mutasa Central Police Station by yesterday. The arrests come at a time when Zanu-PF and the MDC-T are expected to hold talks in Harare today under the multi-party liaison committee facilitated by the ZEC as part of preparations for the presidential election run-off set for June 27.
Today's talks — the first under the multi-party liaison committee after the March 29 joint presidential, parliamentary and council elections — will discuss problems encountered by the parties so far in their campaigns for the run-off.
ZEC deputy director of public relations Mr Tendayi Pamire in an interview yesterday confirmed the meeting would take place today.
"The multi-party liaison committee is meeting tomorrow (today). We have invited only Zanu-PF and MDC-T because these are the only parties taking part in the run-off.
"The parties are expected to discuss the problems they are facing so far in their campaigns for the presidential run-off," Mr Pamire said.
Commissioner Mrs Sarah Kachingwe will chair the meeting.
Mr Pamire said the multi-party liaison committee would carry out a post-mortem of the March 29 elections once the run-off is complete.
He said they could not do so soon after the March polls because the electoral process would only be complete after the run-off.
Mr Pamire said ZEC has already contacted both parties for today's meeting and they expressed their willingness to attend.
The meeting is also expected to look at how best the contesting parties should resolve their differences peacefully.
Justice Chiweshe urged Zanu-PF and MDC-T to campaign peacefully, saying violence would not create a conducive environment for a free and fair poll while Justice Patel agitated for co-ordinated efforts in order to dispose cases of violence as effectively and expeditiously as possible,
"The commission deplores politically motivated violence from any quarter as this does not assist the commission in creating an environment conducive for free and fair elections. So we are urging political parties to urge their supporters to desist from violence," said Justice Chiweshe.
In a statement yesterday, Justice Patel said the seriousness of offences of violence necessitated prompt and determined responses to ensure that the cases were speedily dealt with.
"In this regard, appropriate measures have been put in place to ensure that public prosecutors and the magistracy co-ordinate their efforts in order to dispose these cases as effectively and expeditiously as is possible," Justice Patel said.
He implored prosecutors and magistrates to deal with the cases firmly and fairly.
"The prosecutors handling these matters have been directed to deal firmly but fairly with each case, without regard to the political affiliation of the offenders."
Justice Patel noted that cases of political violence were declining throughout the country.
"From the feedback received by the Attorney General's Office, it would appear that the scale and occurrence of public violence has begun to abate throughout the country.
"In any event, the office intends to monitor the situation on a regular basis and to take decisive action as and when it becomes necessary."
Justice Patel said since May 18, 2008, 80 cases of violence were reported in six provinces excluding Matabeleland and Midlands.
"The alleged offences cover a wide range of acts of public violence, including abduction, assault, malicious damage to property, robbery and offensive utterances. There is also one case of murder and two cases of attempted murder."
He said according to the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the offences were being attributed to both MDC-T and Zanu-PF.
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Zimbabwe 'crisis' and the Uganda 'success' story
Posted: Tuesday, May 20, 2008
By Timothy Kalyegira
May 19, 2008
monitor.co.ug
As I focus these days on the dark deception at the international level, we turn today to the most extreme example: Zimbabwe. I have followed world media reports extensively but there is something I have not once heard asked or discussed: Why is Zimbabwe, once one of Africa's most promising countries, where it is today? Or more pointedly, why is Zimbabwe reported and portrayed to be where it is today?
Let us start off by readily agreeing that President Robert Mugabe is an authoritarian leader, a tendency for which he is, needless to say, not alone in Africa. Having said that, everything else simply does not add up. Let us look at various inflation rates. Iraq for 2007: 64,80 percent; Afghanistan for 2007: 16,30 percent, according to the CIA World Factbook. The DR Congo for 2006: 14,4 percent; another African country in chaos, Burundi for 2006: 11 percent.
Then, a Voice of America radio broadcast on April 1, 2008 said: "In Somalia, continuing insecurity, a surge in food and fuel prices, and uncontrolled printing of money have created runaway inflation that is threatening the lives of millions already suffering from 18 years of war and lawlessness." What, then, is Somalia's runaway rate of inflation after "18 years of war and lawlessness"? "Over 100 percent", according to the website indexmundi.com.
We have taken a look at a cross-section of some of the world's most unstable countries: Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Burundi, the DR Congo and the figures for inflation we see are 14, 11, 64, 100 percent and so forth. Let us turn now to the world record holder, Zimbabwe. As of March 2008, the country's inflation rate stood at 165 000 percent.
Zimbabwe has not had a single military coup since independence in 1980. No civil war, no war with any of its neighbours, no major drought or famine, no earthquake, no volcanic eruption and no floods caused by extreme rainfall, no locust invasion.
Furthermore, Zimbabwe has been ruled by a Zanu-PF Government from 1980-2008, by the same Prime Minister and later President Mugabe, pursuing the same economic policies, with the same management or mismanagement style.
Before the Mugabe Government started uprooting the white farmers in 2000, this Government kept inflation at 5 percent, 8 percent (or 11 percent in difficult years.) How, then, does a country with all the same factors and leaders from 1980 to 2000 suddenly (because the white commercial farmers have been uprooted) see inflation soar to world record levels in a space of just six years starting in 2000? And how is it that a stable Zimbabwe has an inflation rate 1 500 times higher than Somalia, a country without a government since 1991? Does any of this make sense?
Away from abstract figures, the evidence before our ordinary eyes is even more puzzling. If you have watched news video footage on BBC TV, CNN, and other Western TV networks, without exception, you will no doubt have noticed that the streets of the capital Harare are far cleaner and better maintained than those in Kampala, even during the week that Uganda hosted the Commonwealth summit last November.
Have you seen any beggars on Harare's streets? Have you taken the time to notice clean and well-painted Government buildings in Harare?
During the recent presidential campaign rallies, you might have noticed that both the supporters of President Mugabe and the opposition were generally well-dressed, looked and acted cheerful. Nobody wore rags or went about barefooted.
In 2003 and 2007, South Africa's subscription TV channel M-Net sponsored the Big Brother Africa reality television show. In both competitions, Zimbabwe had representatives resident in Harare, Tapuwa Mhere in 2003 and Bertha Zakeyo in 2007. You saw them confident, relaxed girls, not thin beggarly girls who had not had proper meals in years.
More importantly, for M-Net to still have an office in Zimbabwe where viewing is by paid-up subscription, presupposes that there are enough Zimbabweans with money to afford the luxury of pay TV, despite the 100 000+ inflation rate.
With that kind of inflation, you don't have the extra money for luxuries like DSTV.
So how come, for all this obvious evidence, nobody has asked the simple question: is this Zimbabwe story real or an orchestrated series of events by the British and American governments and media to punish Mugabe for humiliating the white settlers in Zimbabwe? It leads us to ask the auxillary question: might all these supposedly impressive economic growth, dropping HIV infection, and inflation rates in Uganda under President Yoweri Museveni have, after all, been falsified, as have all the election results of 1996, 2001 and 2006?
Why do we consistently read about impressive growth and achievement figures under Museveni's rule, and yet most of us feel and know that we are well worse off today than 22 years ago?
Timothy Kalyegira is a columnist with the Daily Monitor paper of Uganda. He can be contacted on timothy_kalyegira@yahoo.com. This article is reproduced courtesy of Timothy Kalyegira.
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Zimbabwe Run-off set for June 27
Posted: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Herald Reporter
May 17, 2008
THE presidential run-off pitting President Mugabe of Zanu-PF and MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai will be held on June 27, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced yesterday.
The run-off will be held concurrently with House of Assembly elections in Gwanda South, Pelandaba-Mpopoma and Redcliff, where candidates who had been duly nominated to contest on March 29 died before polling.
ZEC announced the date for the run-off in a statutory instrument published in an Extraordinary Government Gazette released yesterday.
"A poll shall be taken on Friday the 27th June, 2008, for the purpose of electing a person to the Office of President," read the notice.
The regulations were promulgated in terms of Section 192 (1) as read with Section 192 (5) (a) of the Electoral Act with the approval of the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
In a proclamation also published in the same gazette yesterday, President Mugabe set June 27 as the date on which the House of Assembly elections would be held in the Pelandaba-Mpopoma, Gwanda South and Redcliff constituencies.
Nomination courts will sit on May 30 for purposes of receiving names of prospective candidates intending to contest in the House of Assembly elections.
In Gwanda South, nominations will be received at the Magistrates' Court, Fifth Avenue, while in Pelandaba-Mpopoma the nomination court will sit at the Magistrates' Court, Tredgold Building, in Bulawayo.
Prospective candidates intending to contest in the Redcliff House of Assembly election will file their nominations at the Magistrates' Court, Main Street, in Gweru.
ZEC on Wednesday extended to 90 days from the date of the first election result the period within which the presidential run-off must be held mainly due to the need to put in place the necessary logistics to ensure the smooth running of the election.
The commission announced the presidential poll results on May 2 in which Tsvangirai received 1 195 562 votes, representing 47,9 percent of the valid votes, while President Mugabe polled 1 079 730, which is 43,2 percent of the valid votes.
Since neither candidate achieved an absolute majority, a run-off is required under the Constitution.
The run-off will be held in terms of Section 110 (4) of the Electoral Act, which stipulates that the two candidates who receive the highest and next highest votes shall be eligible to contest in the second round.
With only two candidates, the winner automatically obtains an absolute majority unless there is a tie, in which case Parliament sits as an electoral college to elect the President.
http://www.herald.co.zw/
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Zimbabwe: West Desperate to Unseat President
Posted: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
EDITORIAL
May 14, 2008
The Herald (Harare)
THERE comes a time when the truth, no matter how unsavoury, just cannot be repressed.
The Sunday Times, a South African weekly with a rabid anti-Zimbabwe slant this week carried an article - "The West is conspiring to unseat that valiant warrior, President Mugabe" - by its regular columnist, MOHAU PHEKO, exposing the West's hand in the problems in Zimbabwe and how President Mugabe's refusal to kow-tow to London and Washington has driven them to pursue his ouster at all costs. Read on.
I SUSPECT there is more to the Zimbabwean election than meets the eye. It's hard to decipher where the truth lies, what with MDC-aligned activists masquerading as "independent analysts".
In the meantime, President Thabo Mbeki gives Western powers the finger at the United Nations Security Council, signalling that Africa will handle its own problems.
In the cacophony of Mbeki's critics, we missed the pronouncement he made in a briefing to religious leaders that his mediation process was dogged by the interference of the US and the UK governments.
Is this plausible? Can we unapologetically begin to find some truth in his statement without the debate deteriorating to how Africans always blame the West?
Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair's longtime chief of staff, argued that Britain should not be afraid to intervene in Zimbabwe to defend "our interests" and promote "our values" because "intervening in another country no longer risks tipping the two superpowers into global war, because there is only one superpower".
On the other hand, the US government passed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, which among other things decreed that President Robert Mugabe could restore relations with international financial institutions on condition that he restore Zimbabwe's rule of law, withdraw his troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and change the conduct of internal elections.
Why does this only apply to Zimbabwe?
Uganda, a far less open and democratic country, also had troops in the DRC and has successfully annihilated all opposition parties and freedom of the Press -- but has not been subjected to the same conditions because it's happy to do the US' bidding.
The Act authorised US President George W. Bush to fund opposition media and "democracy" and "governance" programmes in Zimbabwe aimed at "discrediting" President Mugabe.
It's instructive to note that the MDC vigorously lobbied for sanctions against its own country, prompting this US law to have the power to instruct all US members of international financial institutions to oppose and vote against any extension of loans, credits or guarantees to Zimbabwe.
According to Gregory Elich, author of Strange Liberators: Militarism, Mayhem and the Pursuit of Profit, "Western financial restrictions made it nearly impossible for Zimbabwe to participate in international trade".
President Mugabe, we are made to believe, unilaterally brought Zimbabwe's economy to its knees, bringing about widespread poverty, a reign of terror and despotism.
On the other hand, Morgan Tsvangirai is spoken of as the author of a noble "revolution" against President Mugabe and Zanu-PF.
This hides the fact that the MDC is in collusion with the US administration and the British government, who both acknowledge that they are working with the MDC to bring down the President Mugabe Government.
Neither the US nor Britain would tolerate outside interference in their internal politics.
The fairy tale that presents a clash between the "evil king" President Mugabe and the "heroic prince" Tsvangirai fails to recognise the geopolitical interests surrounding Zimbabwe and the Sadc region.
Allowing into our backyard the same coalition of countries (Britain and the US ) that brought destruction to Iraq -- under the guise of a UN Security Council resolution on Zimbabwe -- would plunge the Sadc region into a human disaster of enormous proportions.
The anatomy of falling out of favour always follows the same pattern: Elected officials who defy the White House and 10 Downing Street are denounced as dictators despite winning free and fair elections.
The credibility and legitimacy of the elections is deemed suspicious.
Then it is said these leaders govern in an anti-democratic way.
The opposition calls for Western countries to apply economic sanctions detrimental to their own people.
The US and Britain fund civil society, media and the opposition to begin the regime-change agenda and bring down the "dictator".
Election campaigning is used to force the "dictator" to step down.
The fact that the "dictator" is holding elections at all is considered a sham.
There is a declaration of victory by the opposition party even before the election results are announced, supported by local media mimicking the Western media and promoting a narrative of rigged elections.
Western media repeat this mantra in all their broadcasts just in case you are too dense to comprehend the message.
Predictably, official results contradict the opposition's claim and the elections are deemed fraudulent.
Forecasts from the opposition that blood will spill begin to do the rounds in the capitals of the world, and of course end up at the UN Security Council -- where regime change can mean bombs falling on the heads of the very people to whom democracy and "change" is being brought.
President Mugabe no doubt has made gross mistakes in governing, but this is not why he has been singled out as a "tyrant" and an "African Hitler".
Western governments detest President Mugabe's impertinence -- in particular, his audacity in daring to seize white farms; in meddling in the DRC without consent from the US; and his criticism of Western colonialism, which has gained him the reputation of valiant warrior against Western superiority in Africa.
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Zimbabwe: Zanu-PF, MDC-T file 105 petitions
Posted: Thursday, May 8, 2008
Court Reporter
The Herald
ZANU-PF and MDC-T have filed a total of 105 election petitions, prompting Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku to appoint 17 more High Court judges to the Electoral Court to preside over the cases.
Zanu-PF is challenging results in 53 constituencies while MDC-T is contesting those in 52 constituencies.
The appointments, made in terms of Section 162 of the Electoral Act, bring to 20 the number of judges who will handle the election disputes.
Three judges – Justices Tendayi Uchena, Antonia Guvava and Nicholas Ndou – were appointed to the Electoral Court early this year.
In a letter dated April 29, 2008 and copied to Judge President Rita Makarau and Master of the High Court Mr Charles Nyatanga, the Chief Justice said the appointments were made in terms of the country's electoral laws.
The appointments were also made in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission and Justice Makarau in her capacity as the Judge President and would be effective from April 29, 2008 to April 29 2009.
Justice Makarau would also preside over some of the petitions.
Mr Nyatanga confirmed the latest development saying the Judge President had scheduled a meeting with lawyers handling the petitions for 10am this Friday at the High Court.
"All the lawyers who are dealing with election petitions (are invited) to attend the meeting where the procedure would be discussed with the Judge President chairing.
"The JP (Judge President) is going to issue a practice directive on the procedures to be followed in dealing with the petitions," he said.
Mr Nyatanga said his office had received 105 petitions, which have to be determined within six months in terms of the Electoral Act.
He said both parties filed more or less an equal number of petitions challenging results of the concerned constituencies countrywide.
In its petitions, Zanu-PF will, among other issues, contend that MDC-T bribed election officials while the opposition party will argue that Zanu-PF candidates and its supporters bought votes and interfered with the voting process.
In the synchronised presidential, parliamentary and council elections the opposition MDC-T won 99 seats against Zanu-PF's 97. The MDC got 10 seats.
Zanu-PF won the Senate while no absolute winner emerged in the presidential election, which now requires a run-off between President Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai.
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Zimbabwe: Noise in MDC-T camp, who cares
Posted: Tuesday, May 6, 2008
By Stephen T. Maimbodei
May 06, 2008
The Herald
THERE is an old Chinese proverb that says, "Listen to the words and locate the deeds."
This has been said time and again: when we listen to the MDC-T and watch their conduct and actions do we see them as being in sync? Is the MDC-T walking their talk? Where are the MDC-T's words and actions taking the people of Zimbabwe, apart from the distressful situation they have already brought on Zimbabwe's doorstep?
After the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced the much-awaited presidential results, there were media reports that on May 3 the MDC-T party leadership held a lengthy meeting where one of the major issues discussed was whether Morgan Tsvangirai should participate in the unavoidable run-off election, since none of the four presidential candidates had garnered the 51 percent required by law to be declared the outright winner.
It was also reported that the meeting ended without the MDC-T leaders deciding whether they should take part in the re-run election.
The media also reported that the party would send a delegation to South Africa to consult with Tsvangirai, since he has been living in self-imposed exile in different parts of the Sadc region soon after the March 29 poll.
It is common knowledge that the MDC-T leadership that the people sees does not walk the talk, because it is not their game they are playing.
We also know that the delays in announcing whether Tsvangirai will battle it out with President Mugabe in a date yet to be announced by ZEC is just but a political gimmick.
No offence meant to our sisters, but the way they react to political issues that present themselves looks like they are in a courtship game. The girl, who usually knows that she is in love with the guy, will play the game: "Ha-a iwe mhani iwe. Ha-a iwe mhani iwe. Ha-a iwe John ndozvandisingade . . . "
But eventually she gives in without coercion.
This is exactly what Tsvangirai just did yesterday for the umpteenth time when the Times Online reported that Morgan Tsvangirai was undecided on run-off with President Robert Mugabe.
Wrote Catherine Philp: "Zimbabwe is to go ahead with a second-round presidential election run-off in the coming weeks, leaving the opposition scrambling to decide whether to take part or sacrifice the contest to Robert Mugabe."
Another headline said he would be coming back home, which means coming to fight, for if the dangers that he talks about are still there, why would he want to come?
Since coming onto the Zimbabwe political scene, the MDC have always played these hide-and-seek games.
The MDC-T leadership is so ensconced in its donor-funded make-believe world, and they have in the process not only fooled the people that they are a better option to Zanu-PF, but they have also forgotten the interests of the very people they claim to be representing.
In their "fight" with Zanu-PF, they have also forgotten the proverbial saying that when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers, and that the people have had enough of their absurdity.
A general audit of their globe-trotting, both regionally and internationally, in the past few months will reveal the amounts (in hard currency) they are squandering.
In less than a decade, so short a period, they have become master jet-setters and five-star hotel connoisseurs.
Early after their formation, the late Petronella Samuriwo wrote an incisive opinion piece in the now defunct Daily News newspaper drawing the people's attention to the MDC-T leader's appetite for jet-setting, and admonishing him about his appetite for a lifestyle that did not augur well for someone who was so steeped in the development-speak language of democracy, human rights, transparency, good governance, government expenditure, rule of law, etc.
For Tsvangirai was always accusing Government for overspending and making trips that were not beneficial to the people.
The results that were announced by ZEC last Friday were well known to the MDC-T, for when Tendai Biti "announced" the MDC-T's first set of results on April 2, he remarked, upon being questioned that they would participate in a re-run election "under protest".
Well, the results are out, and the people of Zimbabwe would now want the electoral issues resolved as soon as possible so that they can go on with their lives, for people cannot be in an election fever forever.
As the MDC-T dilly-dallies with people's lives they probably are not aware that people need respite from the current challenges they are facing.
Their actions also go to show that over and above the challenges that people are faced with, the MDC-T is oblivious of current trends in the globalised world where the following headline-grabbing stories are major issues to anyone who really cares about human life do not faze the MDC-T a bit: global financial crisis; global food crisis; escalating food prices; the right to food; threats to food security; escalating fuel prices; global water crisis; global energy and power crisis; global health crisis; climate change, etc.
This is why this writer has always found the biblical book of Nehemiah fascinating, and relevant to Zimbabwe's situation. This is a book that was written when the people of Israel were in captivity.
In its first chapter, Nehemiah writes: "They said to me, 'Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire'. When I heard these things, I sat down and wept."
However, when Nehemiah got the opportunity to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city's walls and gates he was faced with stiff and deadly resistance from non-Jews who were benefiting from the chaos in the city.
He writes again: "But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us.
"What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?"
This is exactly the case with the Zimbabwean situation.
The people of Zimbabwe are in "great trouble and disgrace", and "the walls and gates" of Zimbabwe have been broken down and need restoration, but because there are people benefiting from the current problems, they are playing games.
Those who are raking in trillions of dollars they are receiving from the "donor" community would want Zimbabwe to remain in this state because they are benefiting immensely.
For how do we explain this anomaly: shop shelves are empty, but you see fuel-guzzling motor vehicles on the streets, especially in the capital Harare?
How do we also balance the act where the majority of the people are going on empty stomachs, but the country boasts some of the latest models of motor vehicles, and some people can afford one shopping trip after another in all the neighbouring countries: South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique, with some going as far afield as Dubai and China?
How do we also explain this misnomer when the rand, American dollar, euro, pula and pound sterling seem to be the most preferred currencies than the Zimbabwean dollar?
And when calls are made that we should as a people not put our individual interests first, but the interests of Zimbabwe, it means exactly that. This means President Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai, Zanu-PF, MDC, and everybody who has Zimbabwe's interests at heart.
Therefore, for once, can't the MDC-T leadership keep quiet and allow due process to speak for them? Can't they keep quiet so that they do not continue to confuse their supporters? Can they for once act in the national interest, and allow the rule of law, which they were very much part to in crafting do its work?
We know that politics is a game, and it is also a game of numbers. We also know that strategising is key to this game.
We also know the importance of posturing and how all these put you in a competitive advantage. But to what end?
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Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai, run-off can't be wished away
Posted: Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Herald
SINCE the release of the presidential election results last Friday showing that no contestant managed an outright majority and that a run-off was the only way to determine an outright winner, the opposition MDC-T and its allies have intensified claims that the electoral environment is not conducive for a free and fair run-off.
The MDC-T leadership claim Zimbabwe is a virtual war zone warranting external intervention, and to give succour to the opposition's claims, the American and British governments dutifully issued travel warnings advising their citizens against travelling to Zimbabwe.
To cap it all, they tried to get Zimbabwe on the agenda of the UN Security Council as a presumed threat to international peace and security.
Ironically, as this anti-Zimbabwe campaign was being waged, the country played host to two highly subscribed international events over the past two weeks, all of which exposed the opposition's claims for the sham that they are.
Bulawayo played host to the 49th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, from April 24 to April 26 while Harare hosted the Harare International Festival of the Arts, from April 29 to May 4.
At both events, Western embassies and their staff came out in full force with Zimbabweans from all walks of life and political persuasions mixing and mingling without incident.
In fact the ZITF attracted hundreds of exhibitors from different parts of the world in addition to selling over 1000 more square meters of floor space than the previous years.
Three days later HIFA roared to life in Harare brimming with artistes drawn from countries as diverse as Brazil, Spain, France, Britain and Mali, to mention just a few.
Some of the Western ambassadors and their staff who are busy sending alarmist reports about an alleged crisis in Zimbabwe to their home countries were frequent visitors to HIFA, often not leaving till the last show ended in the early hours of the morning usually around 0100 or 0200 hours.
What is more? White Zimbabweans, whom the world is made to believe, are living in terror, were just as represented as their black counterparts at HIFA, showing that contrary to claims from London and Washington, they are not living in a fear society. Different art forms, some of which were commentaries on the political developments in Zimbabwe, were freely performed with no comebacks on the artistes or organisers.
All this confirmed that the "Zimbabwe" on the opposition's lips is far removed from the real Zimbabwe and that unlike the US, which is a virtual fear society where the colours of the rainbow are used to denote terror-alerts on a daily basis.
Zimbabwe is a free country with well-functioning institutions and systems.
If Morgan Tsvangirai is as popular as he claims to be, he should not develop cold feet over seeking a resounding mandate in the run-off?
Can't he see the irony that some of the countries in which he is gallivanting on a daily basis live in a perpetual state of fear either from terrorist attacks or crime, and that the Zimbabwe he trashes is actually much safer than all of them combined?
In case he needs reminding, only a few weeks back, he was held up at gunpoint in Johannesburg and was relieved of his personal effects. Something that has never happened to him here.
Zimbabwe is very safe, the Westerners to whom he is grandstanding on a daily basis are not stakeholders in Zimbabwe, and neither do they cast votes in the run-off.
To this end, we urge Tsvangirai to focus on the issues at hand. The run-off is real, is enshrined in our law and will not be wished away.
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Zimbabwe: Sadc observer team hails vote recounts
Posted: Saturday, May 3, 2008
Herald Reporter
May 03, 2008
The Herald
THE Sadc Election Observer Mission says the verification and recounting process carried out in 23 constituencies last month was done transparently and in line with Zimbabwe's electoral laws.
Addressing a Press conference in Harare yesterday, the Sadc observer mission head, Angolan Minister of Youth and Sports Mr Jose Marcos Barrica, said their observers witnessed the recounting and verification process in all the 23 constituencies.
"The verification and recounting process started on the 19th of April 2008 in all 23 constituencies, having noted some delays on the opening hour of the operation in some of them," he said.
"The delay was attributed to various logistical handicaps, such as late arrival of some political party agents, identifying and sorting of ballot boxes. However, this did not compromise the process."
Mr Barrica said procedures for opening and sealing of ballot boxes were followed.
"All observers, political party agents and candidates witnessed the process and noted that the ballot boxes were not tampered with, the seals were still intact and corresponded with the serial numbers."
He said slight problems were observed regarding the confirmation of signatures and the originality of the seals but the issues were solved amicably.
Mr Barrica noted the process took 10 days instead of three as had earlier been projected.
"In each electoral constituency, the stakeholders authenticated the procedure by signing the respective check lists at the end of the process of verification and recounting (V11 and V23 forms)," he said.
He said the Sadc team noted "a relatively tense environment" in the country during the verification and recounting process.
These included inflammatory statements by some political leaders from both the ruling party and the opposition.
Mr Barrica said the existence of violence showed political intolerance in the country, which the Sadc team blamed on political leaders who contested the election.
"However, the mission would like to emphasise that despite the post-electoral prevailing crises in Zimbabwe, the situation remains under control of the authorities."
The observer mission appealed for peace and reconciliation in the country.
"The Sadc Electoral Observer Mission takes this opportunity to: appeal to the parties and contesting candidates to abandon (sic) from being egocentric and work for the good of the Zimbabwean nation, respecting the will of the people expressed in the ballot boxes," he said.
The observer mission said reconciliation "is an imperative in Zimbabwe".
Mr Barrica said any queries and concerns regarding the elections should be resolved according to the laws of the country.
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Poll results, Zimbabweans the winners
Posted: Saturday, May 3, 2008
May 03, 2008
The Herald
THE long-awaited results of the presidential election are out and no candidate managed an outright majority, that is 50 plus 1 percent of the votes cast.
However, Zimbabweans were the winners for the maturity they showed in patiently waiting for official results in the face of sustained pressure from the West to go the Kenyan way, which would have justified external intervention.
After a painstaking verification process, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission yesterday announced that MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai garnered 47.9 percent of the vote, President Mugabe 43.2 percent, Simba Makoni 8.3 percent, and Langton Towungana 0.6 percent.
Congratulations are in order to ZEC for standing its ground and all contestants who are duty-bound to abide by the verdict of the people, but more so to the two top candidates who must now gird their loins for a run-off on a date to be announced.
As expected London and Washington were red in the face, dismissing the result as if they were party to the process let alone observers.
It is, however, not lost to us why they were livid. To them the only acceptable outcome is one that favours the opposition as they would then get returns on the investments they made into the MDC since the party's launch on September 11 1999. An investment motivated by a desire to preside over Zimbabwe by proxy and to monopolise its resources in perpetuity.
The run-off is providential as it gives us all a chance to introspect and rectify our mistakes, particularly as Tsvangirai's true colours and friends exposed themselves when they thought they had Zimbabwe under wraps.
We all saw the excitement in London and Washington, the emergence of the white erstwhile commercial farmers eager to reclaim the farms, and the way Tsvangirai hung on every word from the White House and Whitehall. It is within our power to send a clear message to these reactionaries that Zimbabwe will not allow the revolution to be stolen.
Even some in Zanu-PF whose myopia saw them nearly compromise the revolution in the mistaken belief that Simba Makoni's Mavambo project was a beginning should now realise that it nearly became the end for them. Tsvangirai, is part of a much bigger project that even he has little scope off, a project that threatens their collective interests.
It is time to close ranks in the second round to deliver a telling blow to the neo-colonial project, after which we can work on fortifying the revolution so that it is never shaken again.
We all owe that much to our living and fallen heroes who gave so much to liberate this country and the progressive world that has stood by us and continues to look to us for inspiration.
We have a duty to ensure that Zimbabwe becomes imperialism's Waterloo, it is our generational responsibility.
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Zimbabwe: Presidential Poll Results - No Winner
Posted: Saturday, May 3, 2008
By Sydney Kawadza
May 03, 2008
The Herald
RESULTS of the March 29 presidential poll were announced yesterday with no winner of an absolute majority, automatically setting the stage for a second election between the two top candidates – Morgan Tsvangirai of MDC-T and President Mugabe of Zanu-PF – with the other two candidates eliminated.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission constituency election officer for the presidential poll Mr Lovemore Sekeramayi said a second presidential election would be conducted between the two since no candidate had received the required majority of more than 50 percent of the valid votes cast.
"No candidate has received a majority of the total number of valid votes cast, the provisions of Section 110 (3) of the Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13] do apply and a second election shall be held on a date to be advised by the Commission.
"According to Section 110 (4) of the Electoral Act, the two candidates who received the highest and next highest numbers of valid votes cast shall be eligible to contest in the second election.
"Accordingly, Tsvangirai and (President) Mugabe are eligible to contest in the second election," he said.
Zanu-PF, through President Mugabe's chief elections agent, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, immediately said it accepted the results although the party did not believe they reflected the expression of the people.
Tsvangirai's national election agent, Chris Mbanga, said although his party did not accept the final result, he still had to report back to his national executive.
According to ZEC results, Tsvangirai received 1 195 562 votes, representing 47,9 percent of the valid votes, while President Mugabe of Zanu-PF polled 1 079 730 votes, which is 43,2 percent of the valid votes.
Independent candidate Simba Makoni won 207 470 votes, which is 8,3 percent of the valid votes, with Langton Towungana, another independent candidate, polling 14 503 votes, translating to 0,6 percent of the valid votes.
A total of 39 975 ballots were spoilt while the percentage poll was calculated to be 42,7 percent.
Addressing a Press conference after the announcement of the results, Cde Mnangagwa said President Mugabe accepted the ZEC result and would stand as Zanu-PF candidate in the run-off.
"Following the announcement by ZEC in the first stage of the presidential election, I have to advise that the Zanu-PF presidential candidate, Cde Mugabe, accepts the results as announced and is offering himself for election in the pending presidential run-off whose date is yet to be announced," he said.
He, however, said the results did not reflect the genuine expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people.
"Given the many anomalies, malpractices, deflation of figures of Zanu-PF candidates as information was transmitted upwards, inflation of figures relating to opposition candidates as information was transmitted to higher command levels, multiple voting and people who are not on the voters' roll being allowed to vote, persons on voters' roll being turned away and not allowed to vote and irregularities in the manner that handicapped persons were assisted to vote," he said.
He said the anomalies were exposed in the sample recounting exercise that was undertaken at Zanu-PF's request by the ZEC in 21 constituencies.
The anomalies revealed a pattern in the management of the electoral process, which was biased against Zanu-PF and in favour of MDC, he said.
"In short, Zanu-PF and all its candidates, especially its presidential candidate, feel aggrieved and were greatly prejudiced by attempts by the MDC and its sponsors to tamper with the electoral system."
He said the Zimbabwe Election Support Network undertook voter education without the authority of ZEC and outside the legal framework.
"Evidence that has come to light indicates that ZESN voter educators were not, in fact, neutral and in any sense real voter educators but MDC party activists who masqueraded as voter educators to decampaign Zanu-PF while extolling the virtues of MDC (Tsvangirai)," he said.
He said there was also evidence that ZESN observers abandoned their observer status, becoming "conduits through which monies used in bribing and compromising certain electoral officials were channelled", while there is evidence that these funds were provided by the British and American governments.
Cde Mnangagwa said NGOs involved in distributing food abused their humanitarian role and used food as a weapon to decampaign Zanu-PF.
"There is unchallenged evidence that these NGOs, in the last food distributions they made just prior to the election date, advised voters that they will not resume food distributions after elections in the event that the electorate voted for Zanu-PF."
He said recounting in the 23 constituencies also revealed that electoral officers allowed multiple voting and voting by people not on the voters' roll while there was massive voter buying of traditional leadership by the opposition party.
Cde Mnangagwa said the overall operating electoral environment was poisoned against Zanu-PF as the elections were held against a backdrop of illegal Western-imposed sanctions to oust the ruling party from power while the people voted in an environment subjected to Western blackmail.
He said there was also massive funding of the opposition MDC-T and Makoni by the British, Australian and American governments including foreign corporates to influence and determine the
outcome of the elections.
The Zanu-PF legal affairs secretary said pirate radio stations intensified broadcasting into the country's airspace during the election period and were critical players in the electoral process over which ZEC and our laws had no control.
He said some newspapers, such as The Zimbabwean, stepped up supply and frequency and even took MDC-T colours to consolidate opinion for the opposition.
Cde Mnangagwa said Zanu-PF withheld seeking a recount in all constituencies to avoid disrupting the electoral process.
"Nevertheless, the party's candidates have filed petitions in 52 constituencies seeking the setting aside of the announced results and these petitions have been filed with the Electoral Court," he said.
He called on ZEC to institute appropriate measures to eliminate some of the anomalies in the pending presidential run-off.
Cde Mnangagwa said ZEC should allow polling agents to verify whether people intending to vote were on the voters' roll, whether they have already voted or not and ensure that the voter's name has been cancelled from the voters' roll.
They should ensure that fingers are dipped in the indelible ink, among other measures.
He said police officers are equipped to ensure no fraudulent activities take place in the polling station while polling agents should be present during compilation of the V23 Form to ensure accurate information is transmitted from V11 returns.
Apart from posting V11 returns outside polling stations polling agents should be supplied with carbon copies of the V11 and V23 forms to ensure transparency, he said.
Cde Mnangagwa urged the MDC-T to disband the democratic resistance committees to ensure a peaceful campaign in the run-off period.
"Zanu-PF is committed to a total peaceful environment before, during and after the run-off," he said.
He said the MDC had failed, during the presidential verification exercise, to prove its claims that it won the presidential ballot by 50,3 percent, a figure peddled to the world through the Western media.
"They failed dismally, often making arguments which were extremely ridiculous mathematically as it turned out their figures had no relationship at all with what was on V11 forms, which themselves were the primary source of information on the polls."
Mbanga, speaking shortly before the announcement of the results, brazenly claimed that the opposition party had been denied the opportunity to verify the results.
"ZEC wanted to put the burden of proof on us but it's their duty to prove the results," he said.
Prior to the verification process, ZEC announced that it had agreed with all parties that it would present its final results while it was the duty of objecting parties to prove their contrasting results.
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Zimbabwe: Presidential results - Verification begins
Posted: Friday, May 2, 2008
Herald Reporter
May 02, 2008
The Herald
VERIFICATION of the presidential election results began in Harare yesterday with representatives of the candidates who contested the March 29 poll in attendance.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission presented to the representatives the results it came up with for comparison with figures compiled by the contesting parties on their own.
ZEC deputy chief elections officer (operations) Mr Utloile Silaigwana said after presenting the results, parties were given the chance to lodge objections.
"The verification process is basically to allow parties to compare our final figures with their own results before we announce them, according to an agreement reached by all parties before we called for the process to begin.
"We have presented our figures to the parties, but the process has since been adjourned to tomorrow (today) as the MDC-T and independent candidate Langton Towungana were not ready with their own figures to compare with ours," he said.
Mr Silaigwana said MDC-T representative Chris Mbanga and Towungana had indicated that their results do not tally with those presented by ZEC.
"We have adjourned to give them an opportunity to present their figures for comparison with our totals and if the figures do not tally, then they have to prove their source of results.
"We, as ZEC, are the authority with the results and if we do not reach an agreement we have to go back to the primary source of results which are the V11 forms from all polling stations.
"The V11 forms are the only source of results and they also have signatures of representatives from all parties," he said.
Zanu-PF secretary for legal affairs Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa represented President Mugabe at the verification process with Mbanga representing MDC-T candidate Morgan Tsvangirai.
Independent candidates Simba Makoni and Towungana were present at the process, which was delayed by about 20 minutes after the latter failed to make it to the venue at the starting time.
Observers from Sadc, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, Zimbabwe Indigenous Economic Organisation and the Zimbabwe National Drivers' Union observed the process.
Mbanga said the process had started well, indicating that it would continue today.
"We have started the process of verifying the presidential results and the process has been going on well since we started," he said.
Zanu-PF media sub-committee chairperson Cde Patrick Chinamasa has said the results the ruling party, the MDC-T and independent monitors have show that no candidate garnered the mandatory 51 percent to be declared outright winner, requiring a run-off between the two candidates with the highest votes.
The verification is expected to pave the way for the announcement of the presidential poll results.
Results of the House of Assembly, Senate and council polls have since been announced.
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Zimbabwe faces biggest threat since Independence
Posted: Thursday, May 1, 2008
By Abayomi Azikiwe
May 01, 2008
The Herald
ONCE again, imperialist nations and their allied Press agencies along with other surrogate organisations have set out to destabilise the Government of President Mugabe and the ruling Zanu-PF.
Using circumstances surrounding the delay in the announcement of results of the March 29, 2008 poll for the Parliament and presidential elections, the chorus of calls for regime change have dominated the airwaves and print media.
US envoy Jendayi Frazer, who serves as Assistant Secretary State for African Affairs, was dispatched in late April to several countries on the continent to trumpet the idea of regime change in Zimbabwe.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has openly announced in the British parliament that Cde Mugabe must resign and hand over power to the pro-Western MDC.
The British went as far as promising the MDC leadership £1 billion annually to purportedly rebuild the economy of Zimbabwe which has been wrecked by the machinations of the former colonial power in London in co-operation with the United States and the European Union. What moral right do these imperialist nations have to interfere in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe and consequently Africa as a whole?
With specific reference to the United States, the whole idea of criticising the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for its job inside the country represents the height of hypocrisy. Was it not the current Bush regime that came into office in 2000 as a result of the disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of voters, many of whom were African-Americans, during the debacle in Florida that led to the ascendancy of the present administration?
Even in 2004, it was documented by the Congressional Black Caucus and other civil rights organisations that the decisive vote count in the state of Ohio gave the necessary margin to declare George W. Bush victor for a disastrous second term in Washington.
Nonetheless, when democratic elections do not suit the interests of imperialism, such as what happened in Palestine when Hamas won the majority of seats in the authority, the results were rejected not only by the State of Israel but also the United States.
Background to the situation in Zimbabwe
When Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980, it was considered a major accomplishment that would eventually lead to the triumph of the national liberation struggles in Southern Africa.
Since the late 19th century when Cecil John Rhodes, the imperialist agent of British colonialism, pressed for the seizure of the land of the Ndebele and Shona peoples which was rich in natural resources and agricultural potential, the country became a major source of cheap labour and profits for the white settler class and its international partners.
With the beginning of the Second Chimurenga (anti-colonial struggle) during the 1960s, the first taking place in 1896-1897, the masses took up arms to fight for the end of British rule and the return of their land and mineral wealth to the African peasants and workers. In order to avoid an outright military defeat by the armed forces of the Patriotic Front composed of the Zimbabwe African National Union and the Zimbabwe African People's Union, the British and the United States forced the white-settler regime of Ian Smith, which had ostensibly broken away from the UK in 1965, to negotiate a political settlement with the liberation movements. Under the Lancaster House accords of 1979-1980, the British settlers would maintain control of most of the land in Zimbabwe for a period of 10 years. The whites would be guaranteed a 20 percent bloc within the House of Parliament for a decade and the independent Government would not nationalise the mines and other business interests inside the country.
However, it was agreed that the UK and the United States would supply funding for a land reform programme within 10 years to subsidise the gradual removal of the British from the prime land in Zimbabwe and the re-emergence of self-sufficient African farmers and agricultural workers. After the conclusion of the 1980s, the debate within Zimbabwe intensified over the delayed land reform process. By the end of the 1990s, the Zanu-PF Government of President Mugabe, after patiently waiting for two decades for the unfulfilled promises of the former colonial power of Britain and their imperialist partners in the United States, the passage of constitutional amendments granted the right to seize the farms of approximately 50 percent of the white settlers for the resettlement of the African people.
With the assistance of the revolutionary war veterans from the national liberation struggle of the 1960s and 1970s, these farms were occupied and the settlers, who held both Zimbabwean and British citizenship, were forced to leave and concede ownership to the Government which developed plans for land redistribution.
Destabilisation and the neo-liberal agenda
Since 1998, when it became clear that the Zanu-PF Government would eventually embark upon a radical land reform programme, the Western imperialist countries set out to bring down the administration of President Mugabe.
In a referendum to give a electoral mandate to the constitutional reforms designed to escalate the land redistribution programme, the formation of an alliance of internal opposition forces that were backed by the settler-colonialists and their external allies in the UK and the US, were able to defeat the initiative.
Further evidence of the inroads made by the pro-Western political interests in Zimbabwe was demonstrated by the growth of the recently formed Movement for Democratic Change. In the parliamentary elections held during June of 2000, the ruling Zanu-PF party won a majority by small margin after months of a concerted and well-financed propaganda campaign targeting the land reform programme.
This was accompanied by the persistent efforts of the International Monetary Fund and other Western financial institutions to weaken the economy of Zimbabwe. The country, which is geographically landlocked, depends heavily on the transport of goods through the neighbouring Republic of South and Mozambique. By 2002, when presidential elections were held, the ruling Zanu-PF party had consolidated the land reform programme and were able to defeat the opposition MDC at the polls.
Yet the efforts of the imperialists and their collaborators inside the country among the white settlers, the oppostion MDC leadership as well as the local capitalist class, continued their efforts to destabilise the Zimbabwe Government under the leadership of Zanu-PF. When attempts to stage violent regime-change demonstrations failed, the economy came under siege.
The refusal of financial institutions to grant credit to the Government, the hoarding of consumer goods to drive up prices coupled with sanctions and the eventual suspension of the country from the British Commonwealth had a dramatic impact on the ability of the Zanu-PF Government to provide basic services to the people.
Eventually Zimbabwe would withdraw completely from the old colonially-imposed Commonwealth and develop a "Look East" policy which would emphasise greater co-operation and trade within Africa itself and between the country and Asian nations, particularly China. This policy helped provide breathing space for the Zanu-PF Government, since China also offered diplomatic support to the Mugabe administration by preventing efforts to bring the country before the United Nations Security Council to discuss supposed human rights violations.
The role of the People's Republic of China in Africa has been a cause for tremendous consternation in Western ruling circles. China has extended its economic co-operation within many countries on the African continent. In Sudan, they have provided an outlet for the distribution of petroleum resources from their growing oil industry which the United States has been prevented from participating in for over a decade.
During the month of April 2008, the United States and Britain attempted to impose an illegal arms embargo against Zimbabwe after it was discovered that a substantial shipment of weapons and military equipment was being sent to the country. First, a white-dominated dock workers union in South Africa went to court to prevent the arms shipment sent by China from being unloaded and transported to landlocked Zimbabwe.
It was recently announced that the Republic of Angola would allow the arms to be unloaded through their ports. US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer was dispatched to the continent to pressure various governments to both support Western efforts to set an embargo outside the UN Security Council and to also advance the notion of a so-called "government of national unity" where the pro-Western MDC opposition party would be in the forefront.
The problems associated with the delay in election results in Zimbabwe were utilised as an excuse to make a major push towards regime change in this Southern African nation. According to the MDC, the ruling party lost the elections held on March 29. Yet the actual figures from the first tabulation and the recount only place the MDC slightly ahead of Zanu-PF in the Lower House of Parliament. Neither the opposition or the ruling party achieved an outright majority.
Zanu-PF has speculated that the results of the presidential elections would not give a majority to either the ruling party or the opposition MDC. The Zanu-PF Politburo in a recent meeting stated that they were prepared for a run-off election, while the MDC has rejected the idea of a second round in the elections which is mandated by the Constitution if no party wins more than 51 percent in the race for head of state. All of the major Western corporate and governmentally-controlled Press agencies have come out in support of the opposition MDC. The leaders of this party are given prime coverage through interviews and the publicising of their unsubstantiated accusations related to vote rigging, alleged violence committed by the Zanu-PF Government and its neo-colonial schemes purportedly designed to restructure the economy of Zimbabwe.
Amid massive criticism from Western Press agencies and governments, President Thabo Mbeki has refused to aid in the Western destabilisation efforts aimed at toppling the Zimbabwe state and the placing of the pro-Western MDC in power.
Mbeki has rejected the notion that there is a crisis in the country requiring international intervention.
In addition, the newly-elected president of the ruling African National Congress of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, who recently visited the UK and met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, also refused to condemn the Zimbabwe Government.
Despite the convening of a special summit of the regional Southern African Development Community in early April to discuss the political situation in Zimbabwe, the grouping of 14 states in the sub-continent have not taken any action that would interfere in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe and its ruling Zanu-PF party.
The right to self-determination and sovereignty
Spokespersons for the Zimbabwe Government have rejected the statements and actions of the UK and the US as attempts to overturn their Government and impose a neo-colonial solution.
The only real programme of the opposition MDC is to carry out the political and economic designs of the Western imperialist nations and their class collaborators inside of Zimbabwe. The MDC has every intention of returning the farms seized by the Zanu-PF Government after 2000 to the white-settlers.
Also the "Look East" policy has been a specific target of the anti-Mugabe forces because a change in this foreign policy orientation would damage relations between Zimbabwe and China. China has been a staunch supporter of Zimbabwe extending back to the era of the armed struggle for national independence during the 1970s. Moreover, the United States and Britain have supplied arms and economic support to those regimes in Africa and other so-called Third World countries which carry out their policies.
In Africa, the United States supports the regime of Hosni Mubarak of Egypt which receives the second largest grant of American aid, only followed by the Israeli state in occupied Palestine. In Latin America, the US supplies massive amounts of military and economic assistance to Colombia, which is the third largest recipient of American aid behind Israel and Egypt.
This US assistance is provided to supposedly fight narco-terrorism, yet the major purveyors of violence in Colombia are those counter-revolutionary elements that have firm links to the drug trade and who serve as a surrogate military force to prevent the Revolutionary Armed Forces from coming to power inside the country.
The internal political and economic problems of the nation of Zimbabwe can best be resolved by the people themselves. It is obvious from the long history of American and UK involvement in Africa that these imperialist nations have always been the perpetuators or supporters of slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism.
During the many years of brutal oppression and exploitation under colonialism, the United States never supported any genuine liberation movement in Africa. Since independence the US policies have only hampered these nations from gaining genuine liberation from the economic tentacles of international finance capital.
What has occurred in Zimbabwe over the last several years is the direct by-product of imperialist intervention and manipulation of the political economy of this Southern African country.
The Government of President Mugabe, like any other sovereign state, has the right to protect its own interests and to safeguard its people and institutions from outside forces seeking undemocratic forms of regime change.
The writer Abayomi Azikiwe is Editor of the Pan-African News Wire, and this article first appeared on the Pan-African News Wire website. The Pan-African News Wire is an international electronic Press service designed to foster intelligent discussion on the affairs of African people throughout the continent and the world.
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Zimbabwe: UN publicly fingers MDC-T for violence
Posted: Thursday, May 1, 2008
By Caesar Zvayi
May 01, 2008
The Herald
THE MDC-T campaign to demonise the Government for alleged violence and human rights abuses came unstuck on Tuesday when the United Nations Secretariat also publicly fingered the opposition for violence against Zanu-PF supporters.
This came minutes before the world body snubbed attempts by the MDC-T's Western handlers to have Zimbabwe on the agenda of the Security Council as a prelude to intervention, saying it was only "the UK and the US who have been the most vocal on the issue" while Africa was for quiet diplomacy.
In his briefing to the Security Council meeting on Wednesday, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Mr B. Lynn Pascoe said though the MDC-T claimed Zanu-PF had launched a campaign of violence against its supporters, reports indicated that MDC-T supporters were also resorting to violence and intimidation.
"There are reports that Zanu-PF has incited a campaign of abuses against MDC officials and supporters . . . Reports also suggested 'an emerging pattern of political violence inflicted mainly, but not exclusively, on rural supporters of the opposition MDC party', some reports also indicated some MDC supporters were resorting to violence and intimidation."
He noted that though the MDC-T leadership claimed that 10 of its supporters had died as a result of politically-motivated violence, the police and Zanu-PF had denied the assertions.
"The MDC says at least 10 of its supporters have been killed. However, the police and Zanu-PF deny any deaths due to political violence," Mr Pascoe said.
Mr Pascoe's observations are vindicated by a document prepared by the MDC-T leadership chronicling alleged cases of politically-motivated violence from March 29 that does not report any deaths contrary to the claims made by the party leadership in the South African and Western media.
Police say they have handled over 75 cases of politically-motivated violence perpetrated by MDC-T supporters while the opposition alleges that Zanu-PF supporters were involved in 27 instances of violence against their supporters.
Official records from the CID Law and Order Section show that the department has dealt with 33 cases of violence, most of which stemmed from the abortive stayaway called by the MDC-T.
So far, 10 opposition supporters have appeared in court with two of the cases already finalised, 11 others have paid admission of guilt fines while 13 are still under investigation. A further 53 accused persons have paid fines for various offences of politically-motivated violence.
A letter from MDC-T MP-elect for the St Mary's constituency that we reproduce in full on the letters page also situates violence within opposition circles.
Sources at the UN Secretariat said the world body had counselled caution over claims by the MDC-T leadership, saying many of the claims made since the elections had been found to be false or were not substantiated by facts.
They cited the statement made by MDC-T secretary general Tendai Biti on April 2, claiming his party had won 80 percent of the House of Assembly seats which would have translated into 168 of the 210 seats when it had managed only 99 seats; and the claim that Morgan Tsvangirai had garnered 50,3 percent of the vote yet the figures the party quoted gave him 49,1 percent of the votes.
Last week, two suspected MDC-T supporters appeared in court, facing charges of arson after the opposition allegedly unleashed an organised campaign of violence at Mayo Resettlement Area in Headlands where they torched more than eight homesteads belonging to Zanu-PF supporters.
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