The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) issued a statement today commenting on Zimbabwe’s electoral road map.

COMMENT ON ELECTION ROADMAP TIMELINES

12 July, 2011-Harare – This statement is a response to the timelines set and agreed by the three political parties in GNU for Zimbabwe’s electoral roadmap as reported in the Herald of 7 July, 2011.  First and foremost, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) notes with concern the continued disregard of the voice of the people of Zimbabwe as witnessed by the lack of commitment to consult the people in the whole negotiation process.

ZESN is of the view that the timelines that have been set are unrealistic and fail to address a number of pertinent concerns that are essential before the country can hold a new election.

ZESN believes that the 30 days given for voter education and mobilization for voter registration are insufficient as the successful completion of the processes is likely to exceed the set timeline given the many dimensions the processes demand.

ZESN is also concerned with the 60 day timeline given for voter registration and preparation for a new voters’ roll and reckon that the timeline must be increased taking into account the number of existing registered voters in excess of 5 million and those of first time voters that would need to be captured. This is compounded by the proposed Electoral Amendments Bill which seeks set up a polling station based voters’ roll. The proposed system would necessitate the ‘re-registration’ of all existing voters and allocation to specific polling stations. The time allocated for this process should be cognizant of this, to ensure no eligible voters are excluded. The time and resources required for voters to register also needs to be considered so that the process is not too onerous as to discourage citizens from participating.

It is depressing to note that the parties failed to agree on essential reforms that we believe are fundamental to creating an environment suitable for credible, free and fair elections in Zimbabwe in particular the need for enhancing the independence and resourcing of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

ZESN also reiterates the need for security sector reforms as a critical element in paving the way for violence -free election. ZESN is concerned with the fact that security sector reforms remain unresolved yet this is a critical issue on how the elections will be conducted as this will influence its outcome.  The early deployment of observers is also essential as it enables them ample time to assess the situation prevailing in the country.  ZESN maintains that an innovative combination of election observation methods should be used to ensure scrutiny of the pre-electoral environment by regional and international observers at least three months before and one month after the election as a deterrent to politically motivated or electoral violence. ZESN reiterates the need for legal reforms to ensure that repressive legislation is repealed or amended before the next election. The rejection to amend the Public Order and Security Act is unwelcome especially at a time when there is need to allow more freedoms in regards to public gatherings.

Furthermore the basis and interest of the negotiating political parties are unclear as they seem to have disregarded the ongoing constitution reform process which inevitably will bring a number of changes in the electoral process.

ZESN therefore proposes the following as an alternative to tackling the issue of timeframes in the implementation matrix for the negotiators:

- Timely gazetting of polling stations.
- The determination of a mechanism for the type of voters’ roll and registration methodology to be used and how this will relate to the proposed polling station based system.
- A clear agreed framework and timeframe for registration of both old and new voters and clean-up of the roll.
- The delimitation of constituencies based on outcome of the new constitution and based on accurate voter registration information as well as the finalization of the voters’ roll.
- Voter education and mobilization needs to be a continuous part of the entire process.
- A constitutionally stipulated election period to avoid uncertainty on election dates.

ZESN stresses that the roadmap needs to create an enabling environment for free and fair elections. Setting unrealistic timelines will likely result in another disputed election. The constitution reform process needs to be completed first. The roadmap should promote transparency in all electoral processes and critically deal with issues that have hindered credible elections in the past. SADC needs to take an active role and urge the political parties to commit to the letter and spirit of the roadmap once it has been signed. ZESN emphasises on the need to instil confidence in the electorate and the creation of enabling environment for the holding of credible elections that reflect the will of the people of Zimbabwe.

ZESN

The 18th July is an important date in progressing democracy in Zimbabwe. Not sure if you’ve seen this statement from the International Socialist Organisation (ISO) but take a read and engage some of the actions they’re asking for. Flex yer digits for democracy.

Zimbabwe Socialists Facing Treason Charge

Call For Solidarity!

Trial 18 July 2011

The International Socialist Organisation [ISO] Zimbabwe wishes to update all progressive cadres, socialists, revolutionaries and democrats who have been in solidarity with us since the unjust February 19th 2011 arrest, detention and torture of ISO comrades, student leaders and human rights activists that the case of State v Munyaradzi Gwisai and 6 Others goes to court on the 18th of July 2011 .The trial will take place at the Rotten Row magistrates Court Regional Court 18 in Harare, Zimbabwe at 0830hrs.

Our National Coordinating Committee comrades Munyaradzi Gwisai, Tafadzwa Choto and Tatenda Mombeyarara will be standing trial together with trade unionist Edison Chakuma, debt rights activist and ex-ISO comrade Hopewell Gumbo and student leader Welcome Zimuto.

We fully understand that the evil alliance between the state and the entire capitalist establishment should be resisted by all means. We are together in the struggle. Furthermore, the capitalist regimes of the world realize that their time is up and they have decided to give their last kicks, be it in Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, UK, Tunisia, Egypt, and Swaziland and even here in Zimbabwe where our comrades are facing similar charges for defending democracy and freedom of expression.

Your solidarity messages condemning our arrests were important in increasing the political cost on ZANU PF for keeping us detained. You indeed fought for our freedom. They can beat us, kill us and detain us. But they will not survive the revulsion of the intrinsic contradictions of capitalism that we are exposing. Workers will always stand up and revolt. We won’t stand by while rampant corruption and crass materialism disable both government and private sector. We will shout at the top of our voices when we detect abuse of power and political intolerance. Egypt and Tunisia are lessons for the poor and an opener to another Russia 1917. However the workers and the oppressed masses of the present world if united can easily make capitalism history as well as turn all past revolts into tea-drinking sessions. Jambanja Ndizvo!

As revolutionary socialists we remain committed to the resolve and commitment that there is only one solution to capitalism. That solution is a revolution.

Fire the last time!!

Please send messages of solidarity to:
iso.zim [at] gmail [dot] com
solidarity [at] freethemnow [dot] com
editor.socialistworker [at] gmail [dot] com

Visit the websites www.freethemnow.com, www.isozim.blogspot.com OR our facebook page International Socialist Organisation (ISO) Zimbabwe.

More Action

You can also put pressure on the ruthless, counter-progressive Fascist State machinery of Zimbabwe by calling the following numbers:

Ø  Ministry of Justice +263 4 734920/24
Ø  Attorney General +263 4 774586/7;772987/8;772992
Ø  Ministry of Home Affairs +263 4 703641/3
Ø  0ffce of the President & cabinet +263 4 707091/7

Smash Capitalism! Viva Socialism!

Solidarity Forever

National Coordinating Committee (NCC)
International Socialist Organisation (Iso) Zimbabwe

Diamonds are a chef’s best friend.

In reality, millions of carats of Marange diamonds have hit the market and these revenues are helping the Zimbabwean ZANU-PF party elite avoid real power sharing and democratic reform. Read more

After decades of civil war, often based on ethnicity, religion, ideology and oil between the north and south, South Sudan finally gained its freedom and its now a Republic. South Sudan will become the 55th nation in Africa.

Saturday the 9th of July was indeed a day to celebrate in Juba the capital city of South Sudan when the flag of South Sudan was flown with the national anthem playing for the first time to mark its independence. The nation was born out a referendum in which the Southerners voted overwhelmingly to separate from the North. With its vast oil deposits and with a mainly Christian population, South Sudan hopes to start a new beginning after its hard-earned independence.

But despite having one of the biggest oil reserves in Africa, 90 percent of the people of South Sudan were living on less than half a dollar per day. One hopes that the new government of South Sudan will use its oil resources to enhance the living standards of its citizens and promote democracy and respect for human rights. Indeed God led the people of South Sudan to a well-deserved independence after a long struggle; let us all help the South Sudanese in singing their national anthem and celebrate their hard earned freedom.

South Sudan National Anthem

Oh God
We praise and glorify you
For your grace on South Sudan,
Land of great abundance
Uphold us united in peace and harmony.

Oh motherland
We rise raising flag with the guiding star
And sing songs of freedom with joy,
For justice, liberty and prosperity
Shall forever more reign.

Oh great patriots
Let us stand up in silence and respect,
Saluting our martyrs whose blood
Cemented our national foundation,
We vow to protect our nation

Oh God bless South Sudan.

Zimbabwean activist Grace Kwinjeh recently shared the following article with us.

And … as a matter of interest – you might well have missed it – in a recent Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) statement published in The Sunday Mail the ZRP has already concluded that “MDC hooligans” murdered Inspector Mutedza in Glenview. Proclaimed guilty even before trial.

Cry Woman cry, cry beloved Zimbabwe!
By Grace Kwinjeh

“Another weekend in for my child, is that it??? Cynthia was picked up from her town residence, not in Glen View, and she was never in Glen View, why, why is this happening to my child and why to her little boy?? How do I tell a little boy that he can’t see his mother because she was arrested for no crime at all??” Anna Manjoro.

The above are the cries posted on the social networking site, Facebook, by Mrs Anna Manjoro, Cynthia’s mother. Cynthia is one of the 24 Glenview residents accused of killing a police officer, Petros Mutedza . Above is the shrill cry of anguish coming from a mother and grandmother for her daughter, Cynthia, who has left behind a son to whom she has to explain the ‘criminal’ enormity of his mother’s arrest.

Problem is there is no criminal enormity here! Only, perhaps, a coldly calculated ‘political enormity’. An eerie cloud of premeditated spitefulness that hovers ominously over Cynthia and three other women who have been transferred from the female section to the male one at Chikurubi Maximum prison– a holding centre for the most vile and dangerous criminals.

The psychological impact is unimaginable!

Just to prove where the real deception behind the arrests of the 24 lies is the fact that Cynthia herself, even the police admit, has not committed any offense, but her arrest is meant to ‘lure’ her boyfriend who, as they allege, is also behind the killing of the police officer in Glenview.

Anna’s cries are deep from Zimbabwe’s own belly, mourning for her beloved children.

Arbitrary arrests, torture, hate speech – you name it – characterize a relentless campaign by President Robert Mugabe’s acolytes in the top echelons of the army, police and intelligence to intimidate and instill fear in an otherwise restive population. This unfortunate group, it should be noted, is not the first since Zimbabwe’s independence to endure the brutality of similarly seeming mindless incarceration as a result of trumped up charges.

When political temperatures rise, women and children are the most vulnerable. But who cares?

Scars are still fresh from the violence of the 2008 Presidential election run -off. A woman from Manicaland Province states in a December, 2010 study commissioned by the Research Advocacy Unit (RAU) : “No place to hide. Politically motivated rape of Zimbabwean women”, “When I woke up the following morning on the 26th of June 2008, they had put a skirt on me and a ZANU PF t-shirt, I had blood all over my skirt and my thighs were swollen. My vagina was full of semen; I had wounds and cracks from being raped continuously. I could not walk because my legs were swollen.” The grisly forms of violence, endured by hundreds of women, through out the country during this dark period are well documented.

It may seem as if this is no longer the time to dwell on what some might feel to be petty struggles fought in high density suburbs like Glenview. It may, however, certainly be claimed, in some quarters, that the focus is no longer on the ability of the working class (or struggling women, on a more specific note) to mobilize and liberate themselves, and that now the focus has shifted onto the regional and African elites’ political will to offer leadership that will liberate Zimbabweans from a long time ally and friend of theirs.

Rejoice Ngwenya, in XO2 this Wednesday, shares some thoughts on how “the people” are used in the political debate:

There are several things that National Constitutional Assembly’s Lovemore Madhuku and Paul Mangwana of COPAC inadvertently share.  Both men are chairpersons of constitutional research bodies, driven by a passion for constitutional law. They also have a sinister obsession with the phrase ‘people-driven’, albeit for different reasons. Their egos seem to thrive on incessant front page appearances.  In the quest to outdo each other for attention, the two lawmen insist that the current constitutional process is either people-driven [Mangwana] or not people-driven [Madhuku]. That leaves me and you, mere mortals, in a state of semantic quandary as to which people these learned men are grappling about.  As with literary tradition, I turn to Wikipedia that describes people as ‘a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood.’

My prognosis is that one of these ‘qualities’ referred to above is the ability to think or reason independently. But because constitutionalism is fought in the realm of politics, I would assume Madhuku is more comfortable with ‘civil’ people than the ‘political’ people that Mangwana is accustomed to dealing with. If one probes further, Madhuku is convinced that Mangwana’s ‘people’ are prone to manipulation, since they are selected on partisan preferences, hence, in his view, the ‘illegitimacy’ of the COPAC process. Mangwana on the other hand will argue that because all people have a degree of intelligence, it is inconceivable that one can manipulate [all of] them, thus the legitimacy of the COPAC process.  As far as these two learned lawyers are concerned, the ‘COPAC referendum’ will be a battleground to determine which ‘people’ really matter in defining the destiny of Zimbabwe. For me, I would like to raise the argument on who the ‘real’ people are and why long before the bi polar plebiscite.

Let me start off with the marital institution I am familiar with – mine. I have four children – all boys – who I call ‘mine’, for genetic and legal reasons. However, my ‘possession’ is limited, if not situational because when the two boys are in a kombi, the driver calls them ‘my passengers’. At school, they are labelled ‘my students’ by their teacher while our pastor refers to them as ‘my church members’. In other words, ‘personhood’ is situational. My point is that both Madhuku and Mangwana are in fact talking about the same people, the difference being these humans assume certain qualities in different scenarios.

During the COPAC outreach, I met many ‘people’ who enjoy simultaneously multiple membership in NGO youth groups, the NCA, their professions, Movement for Democratic Change [MDC], ZANU-PF and several other social groupings. Some attended my meetings while other abstained because they said to me “we do not trust the other ‘people’ are at your meetings”. Nonetheless, at any one time, even a typical NCA member assumes ‘dual personhood’ that can be civil, professional or for that matter political.

Madhuku’s rational argument is two-fold: first, ‘political people’ like Mangwana cannot preside over a constitutional reform process without resisting the temptation to ‘unfairly influence’ popular opinion. Second, he argues COPAC audience was ‘people’, but attended either under duress, or some stayed away in fear of what Mangwana’s ‘political people’ would do to them before, during and after these meetings. Therefore the Madhuku conclusion is that even if it is ‘people’ that drive the COPAC process, they are not from the ‘right civic category’ in order to legitimise the process.

Mangwana’s position is predictably different, if not outright divergent. He argues that every, or at least most ‘people’ came to the meetings voluntarily. His party, ZANU-PF, invested time and energy to ‘explain’ to these people what to expect and how to respond because in a democracy, one is allowed to teach ‘one’s people’ what is good for them. This means that he is saying to Madhuku: “It would have been better to [also] teach ‘your people’ what was good for them rather than saying: “don’t go there because you will meet the wrong Mangwana people”.

My conclusion is therefore tinged with Biblical annotation. There is none but God who can designate people as ‘the right people’ or ‘the wrong people’. Those who stayed out of the COPAC process exercised their intelligent choice, while those that participated [either voluntarily or otherwise] had an opportunity to refuse. Whether you are NCA, ZANU-PF, MDC or ‘civil’, you are the ‘right person’ because of your citizenship. If you feel you were ‘excluded’ from the COPAC process, you will have an opportunity to ‘participate’ in the referendum. That makes you important to me.  Thus, in the final analysis, it will be interesting to see which ‘people’ will have the last laugh – Madhuku’s ‘civil people’ or Mangwana’s ‘political people’. Either way, it is the people that will speak!

XO2 this Wednesday may be your Extreme Opinion too!