SANF 08 No 40
Regional election observers will remain in place in Zimbabwe for the presidential election run-off on 27 June, despite the withdrawal announcement by the opposition leader.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union and the Pan-African Parliament have deployed more than 600 election observers in preparation for the poll, in addition to observers from other countries and local monitors, a significant increase in the number of observers from the first round of elections on 29 March.
A SADC ministerial defence and security meeting, which met in Luanda on Monday to discuss a number of issues, concluded that the SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) will remain deployed in Zimbabwe until the situation is resolved between the political parties, according to the Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Miranda, who chaired the meeting.
The ministers urged the political parties in Zimbabwe to participate in the second round of the presidential run-off, and to accept the results of the election.
A UN Security Council resolution on Sunday urged the international monitors and observers to remain in Zimbabwe, although it questioned the conditions for a “free and fair” election.
The electoral law requires a run-off election to be held between the top two contenders if no presidential candidate gets more than 50 percent of the valid votes cast in the first round, as was the case with the 29 March elections.
The opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change–Tsvangirai (MDC-T) on Sunday announced his withdrawal from the poll saying conditions do not exist for a credible election.
The opposition leader sought “refuge” in the Netherlands embassy in Harare but political analysts suggested that this move was intended to put pressure on the UN Security Council meeting.
One commentator suggested that Tsvangirai’s choice of embassies was an indication of his backers (the Netherlands government supports an anti-government radio station and newspaper), questioning why he did not choose an African embassy.
The most likely reason for seeking asylum in a foreign embassy is to access secure communications to allies and supporters. Tsvangirai has been releasing articles and interviews for the British and other media from the embassy compound in advance of next week’s meeting of the Group of 8 (G8) leaders of industrialised countries.
The Security Council, whose rotating chair is held by the United States for the month of June, called on the government in Zimbabwe “to cease political intimidation, to end restrictions on the right of assembly and to release detained political leaders.”
The government has denied responsibility for these activities, saying that violence is caused by political confrontation between supporters of the two contesting parties and is not as widespread as inferred by the media but localised, that the MDC-T candidate has been moving around the country during the campaign period, that there are no “political detainees” and that the Secretary-General of the MDC-T is facing criminal charges.
This is seen as political posturing by both contending parties in advance of the poll, and government has accused the MDC-T of undertaking activities, including a campaign of violence, aimed at cancelling a poll which they fear losing.
Although Tsvangirai drew more votes in the first round than the incumbent, Robert Mugabe of ZANU-PF, analysts for the latter point out that their candidate won 6 out of 10 provinces.
The UN Security Council resolution also condemned the suspension of humanitarian operations in the field, and called for immediate resumption.
A political analyst in Harare blamed non-governmental organisations for precipitating the food shortages, saying their withdrawal would actually increase the supply of basic commodities.
Goodson Nguni said the NGOs had been purchasing food items in the cities, including Harare, and creating a shortage in urban areas while giving out the food freely in rural areas and encouraging recipients to vote for the opposition.
Government has opened Peoples Shops in the rural areas, with subsidised prices, and has begun restocking these on a daily basis, arguing that there is no “humanitarian crisis” and no work for the NGOs, who rely on donor funding for their activities and their salaries.
Nguni noted that elections in Iraq and Afghanistan were conducted during a civil war with results accepted, and that 2,000 people had been killed in ethnic tension during Kenyan elections last December.
During the so-called xenophobia attacks in South Africa last month, more than 70 people were killed but this was not a matter raised at the Security Council, nor was the violent and heavily flawed election held in Nigeria last year during which more than 200 people lost their lives.
Meanwhile, the SADC Troika of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation was expected to meet on Wednesday in Swaziland. This comprises the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, who is also the current chairperson of the African Union; Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos, although it was not clear that he personally would attend; and the King of Swaziland, His Majesty Mswati III.
They are expected to receive a briefing from the South African negotiating team and discuss the way forward ahead of the presidential run-off on 27 June and the African Union Summit on 30 June and 1 July.
The Swazi Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mathendele Dlamini, said that, while the agenda for the troika meeting is broad, it focuses mainly on the Zimbabwe impasse. “The agenda is politics and other diplomatic issues. They will also deliberate on peace within the whole region. We believe they will find a lasting solution to the Zimbabwe crisis.”
