Zimbabwe Elections Approach; Global Community Speculates on Outcomes
By Jane Clark
March 28, 2008 | Printer Friendly

Elections in Zimbabwe are scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 28, 2008, and in contrast to previous years, some observers believe that the results are not predictable.  BBC News writes that this is the first time since an opposition formed against Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe that campaigning has remained relatively peaceful.  Opponents have been allowed to campaign in rural areas, which was prevented in the past.  One of the challengers, former Finance Minister Simba Makoni, comes from within Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party, which could explain the relative absence of violence.  The other candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, represents the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

According to the Wall Street Journal, Mugabe risks being ousted for the first time.  Makoni and Tsvangirai draw large crowds to their rallies, and dissatisfied citizens are beginning to blame the government for its failure to fulfill many promises.  Mugabe has declared that he will never see the MDC rule in his lifetime, and his military backers agree that they will not support a president from that party.  However, since Makoni is from Mugabe’s party, he might offer a “way out.”  Some people believe that a power sharing agreement between Tsvangirai and Makoni offers the best chance of winning, since Tsvangirai could draw popular support and Makoni could draw establishment support.

Not everyone is optimistic.  The New York Times reports that an opposition candidate described 100 young men storming onto his property last week and throwing bricks at his home.  Several of his supporters were injured.  Intimidation tactics have been much less frequent than in former years, but Mugabe has been using other tactics, such as distributing subsidized food and giving away farm equipment to village chiefs in the hopes that it will bolster his rural support.  Members of the MDC have also noted that nine million ballots have been printed even though there are only 5.9 million voters, and they “suggest that the surplus will end up marked for Mr. Mugabe.”  The State Department expressed concern about the actions preceding Saturday’s elections in the following statement:

We are concerned that actions of the Zimbabwean government will preclude free and fair elections on March 29. Independent organizations report extensive pre-election irregularities, such as inaccurate voter rolls violence and intimidation of competing political parties and civil society; overproduction of postal ballots for police, military, diplomats, and electoral officials and absence of independent observation of the counting of postal votes to prevent multiple voting; inadequate polling stations in urban areas; bias against the opposition in the government-controlled media; permission for police to be present inside polling stations in breach of the recent SADC-brokered agreement; and politicized distribution of government-controlled food, and other benefits and government resources.

We call on the Government of Zimbabwe, including the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, to take concrete actions to address these significant shortcomings, including respecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Zimbabwean people. Despite these obstacles, we encourage all Zimbabweans to exercise their democratic right to vote in a peaceful and orderly manner.

Links:

BBC News: Zimbabwe - On the Verge of Change?

Wall Street Journal: Comrade Bob's Last Stand 

New York Times: Hope and Fear for Zimbabwe Vote

State Department: Pre-Election Irregularities Endanger Zimbabwe Elections