by Bayano Valy – SANF 05 no 24
Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu PF party has hailed the countries of the region for their support against British interference in the country’s internal politics.
“Britain wanted to come in but stopped when the neighbouring countries said they supported Zimbabwe’s policies,” President Robert Mugabe told a rally of some 12,000 party supporters in the rural Mhondoro constituency south of Harare ahead of the 31 March parliamentary elections.
He said that Britain would have intervened forcefully in Zimbabwe had it not been told to back off by neighbouring countries.
Clearly British interference in Zimbabwe was over resources, he said, and not to further democracy, but Zimbabweans should “demonstrate that you stand by your rights and self-determination to choose” what to do with the country’s wealth.
“We don’t need Britain to direct us which way to go. It’s our wealth,” he said, interspersing his speech in English and Shona.
Mugabe added that British colonialism had long been buried, and Britain could no longer dictate how Zimbabwe should run its own affairs.
Ironically, Zimbabwe in a way props up the economy of Britain, he said, as some 4,000 companies in the country are British-owned and profits are remitted back to Europe.
Britain has campaigned hard in the international arena to have sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe government leaders and senior party officials following the government’s decision to implement its land reform programme of redistributing land to black Zimbabweans.
The accelerated land reform programme is aimed at correcting colonial injustices – most of the country’s fertile land was seized by British settlers, including the resettlement of British soldiers after World War II, and remained in the hands of some 4,500 white commercial farmers.
The land policies of the former British colony of Southern Rhodesia had advanced this skewed system that consolidated land ownership in white hands without compensation to its black owners, forced landless blacks onto poor land in crowded communal areas, and prevented most black citizens from voting.
Zimbabwe approaches its 25th anniversary of independence next month, conscious of the fact that the liberation war against Rhodesia that ended 25 years ago was fought over land.
It was on the back of land invasions by impatient rural black Zimbabweans who still lived in poverty in communal areas two decades after independence, that Britain lobbied successfully to the European Union and North America to impose so-called smart sanctions and travel bans on Zimbabwe’s political leaders.
Not so the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, including South Africa, which threw their support behind President Robert Mugabe.
A local chief in Mhondoro, Mashayanombe Gwatidzo, told SANF that Zimbabweans want to co-exist peacefully with whoever wants to help to develop the country. “There’s no animosity. It’s artificially created.”
Chief Mashayanombe said that it made no sense, and certainly it did no justice, that a white minority milked Zimbabwe while “the majority of blacks are still poor.”
“Don’t tamper with African and Zimbabwean pride,”he warned.
He too thanked the neighbouring countries for supporting Zimbabwe. “The support has been tremendous and the regional countries have once again expressed their solidarity in a strong way,” said Chief Mashayanombe.
The political climate ahead of the elections has been calm, with the parties campaigning in earnest.
“The campaigns have been peaceful,” said Willie Spies, a member of the South African parliamentary delegation, one of many southern African observer groups deployed throughout the country.
The African National Congress of South Africa has also sent an observer delegation, as have some other neighbouring countries and the SADC regional grouping.
President Mugabe said the elections will be held in full view of SADC observers and “they’re free to go wherever they want. We’ve nothing to hide.”
Local, regional and international media have also flocked to the country to report on the elections.
Both parties are predicting victory, although most political commentators and analysts give the edge to ZANU PF. The previous election gave almost half of the seats in parliament to the opposition.
A recent opinion poll put the ruling party’s share of the 120 seats up for grabs in this election at around 72, while the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is tipped to clinch around 45 seats. One seat has been won consistently by a minor party, and there are a number of independent candidates, some of whom could win seats.
Direct elections are held for 120 members of the 150-seat parliament, while the others are selected by institutions such as the Council of Chiefs or appointed by the President.
More than 5.7 million Zimbabweans are registered to vote, and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has said that preparations are almost complete.
These elections will take place within a new electoral landscape in that Zimbabwe has changed its legislation to comply with the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, adopted by the 13 SADC Heads of State and Government at their summit last year.
The Zimbabwe parliament, with approval of both of the main parties, changed some of the country’s existing laws, adopting the Electoral Commission Act and the Electoral Act, as well as other electoral regulations. (SARDC)
