Council for a Community of Democracies

Election Disarray Continues in Zimbabwe
By Joseph Catapano
April 16, 2008

Seventeen days after the presidential election was held in Zimbabwe, results have still remained withheld from the public. A run-off appears unlikely, as according to the law, it must take place within the next four days. According to The New York Times, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) received yet another setback yesterday, as a judge postponed their challenge of a planned recount of presidential and parliamentary votes in 23 districts by the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission. The recount could give President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party enough votes to reclaim a majority in parliament.

Tuesday, April 15 marked a day of protest in the country, as some who hold jobs in a country with 80% unemployment became “stay-aways” for a day. However, due to military and police intimidation, participation in the strike was lower than hoped, and the effort was generally regarded as unsuccessful. At least 50 MDC supporters have been arrested following the strike, according to BBC News, and “a coalition of Zimbabwean doctors said its members had seen and treated more than 150 people who had been beaten and tortured since the [March 29] polls.” Personal stories from Zimbabwean citizens in relation to yesterday’s strike can be found in this article on BBC News.

“We’ve been through this so many times, and every stay-away has had a lot of retribution attached,” said a member of one of Zimbabwe’s nongovernmental organizations, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. “The repercussions are severe. People have their property destroyed, their hands crushed. They’re beaten and battered.”

Foreign journalists have also been targeted by authorities in Zimbabwe; The New York Times specifically cites the arrest of Frank Chikore, a freelance journalist. He was arrested yesterday while videotaping police outside of Harare as they towed away a burnt bus. Chikore’s home was ransacked, and his videotapes, cameras, cellphones, and laptops were all stolen.

The military presence was very high in the capital of Harare, with trucks mounted with water cannons and filled with armed guards patrolling the streets. There were also reports of helicopters and jets flying in formation over the city.

Numerous scholars and observers have called on the international community to increase its pressure on the Mugabe regime to release the results to the public. Today, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is expected to ask members of the Security Council, which is chaired currently by Zimbabwe’s neighbor South Africa, to increase pressure for the release of the results. He told journalists yesterday that a high-level meeting between the UN and the African Union being held today provided a “natural opportunity” to address the situation in Zimbabwe.

“We need really to see, first of all, very transparent and expeditious release of election results, so that the Zimbabwean people will be able to enjoy the democratic process, and also they should be able to overcome these serious humanitarian difficulties,” said Ki-moon.

The scheduled meeting between the UN and the African Union deals with peace and security on the continent. Current agenda topics include Darfur, Somalia, and Western Sahara; the situation in Zimbabwe is not an item on the official agenda.

References:

The New York Times: Protest by Zimbabwe’s Opposition Falters as the Army Makes a Show of Force

allAfrica.com: UN Chief Presses for Election Results

BBC News: Zimbabweans React to Strike Call

BBC News: ‘Arrests’ after Zimbabwe strike