Living Zimbabwe

Tag: Elections

  • Mugabe Feeling The Pressure

    This week, African leaders meet in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt for an African Union (AU) summit. President Robert Mugabe made his way to Sharm el-Sheikh after his inauguration and it was clear that he did not want to hear any advice from other countries. He went there thinking that no-one would speak up about all that has taken place in Zimbabwe. This was not the case as some of the leaders at the summit took the opportunity to express their concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe. The AU commission chairman, Jean Ping was one of the first to raise his concerns about the violence and intimidation in Zimbabwe followed by Raila Odinga, the Kenyan Prime Minister who urged the AU to suspend Mugabe until he allowed free and fair elections and Ernest Koromo, the President of Sierra Leone commented that the people of Zimbabwe have been ‘denied their democratic rights.’ All the criticism would not have been easy for him to take especially with him being there at the time. This is something that is necessary and I applaud the people who have managed to speak up.

    It looks like African leaders have realized that doing nothing is not an option because Mugabe will do whatever it takes to stay in power which was evident from the June 27th election and his hasty Presidential inauguration on the 29th of June. There was nothing free and fair about that election. President Mugabe did not look too pleased at the summit after all the criticism he faced and by the looks of things he is beginning to feel the pressure. This may explain his outburst when he was approached by a journalist at the summit:

    A recent visitor to this blog, Hilary left a comment with a link to a petition to make world leaders recognize Mugabe’s crimes and speak out against him – Global Action for Zimbabwe – you can make a difference.

  • Zimbabwe Voter Registration Search

    The presidential run-off elections scheduled for 27th of June are just around the corner. For Zimbabweans who are interested, you can do an online search for your voter registration details via the following link:
    zimvoter.com

  • Independence and the An Yue Jiang

    It has been 24 days since the presidential elections and the official results are still to be released by ZEC. A lot has been going been going on in Zimbabwe since the 29th of March with one of them being the April 18th Independence Day celebrations. Just how independent Zimbabwe is, is something much left to be desired. I took a look at the dictionary definition of independence:

    Independence – the quality or state of being independent, freedom from control or influence of another or others
    freedom – the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints: autonomy, liberty – immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political independence

    Freedom of speech is something that is basically unheard of in Zimbabwe and the government tries to keep a tight lid on what sort of information is distributed via the various media channels and the journalists who come into the country to report on the situation. Some people live in fear that they may be subjected to beatings, torture, jail sentences or even death for speaking up for what they believe in which in most cases is basic human rights. What kind of independence is that?

    Zimbabweans are in a state of limbo as they await the very overdue results of the presidential elections. In the mean time, the streets of the nation’s cities and towns have been filling up with personnel from the armed forces and the odd Chinese military official has also been spotted. MDC activists and supporters have been subjected to violent beatings and this violence is something that may continue or even escalate especially with the large arms consignment destined for Zimbabwe from China.

    A Chinese ship the An Yue Jiang which is carrying a large amount of weapons and ammunition destined from Zimbabwe was turned away from South Africa and Mozambique and is now destined for Angola from where its cargo can make its way to landlocked Zimbabwe. The United States is trying to intervene to convince governments of African nations to prevent the ship from unloading its cargo. There have been reports that a second shipment destined for Zimbabwe will be flown into the country, a step that may have been taken to circumvent the problems and controversy surrounding the first consignment. What all of this weaponry will be used for at a time like this is a question that a lot of people are asking?

    Whatever the case may be, the people of Zimbabwe continue to suffer at the hands of a few people who could very easily put an end to it and allowing new leaders with the right mind set to take over. Are Zimbabweans going to have to go through the struggle of gaining independence all over again?

  • Are the 2008 Zimbabwe Presidential Elections Rigged?

    Zimbabwe Presidential Elections Rigged!Cartoon by Tom Scott of The Dominion Post featured in the April 2nd edition. (Click on image to enlarge.)

    It has been five days since Zimbabweans took to polling stations and there has been no word as to who won the presidential elections. MDC has been claiming that they have won the elections stating that they have 50.3% and Mugabe 43.8% but there has been no official word from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. However, official results show that Mugabe has lost the majority in parliament which may mean the same thing for the presidential elections but people should not hold their breath because in the past, Mugabe has often done what he wants to do. The ZEC has said that they will release the results on Friday the 4th but that is not a given. Mr. Tsvangirai and a number of key figures from both MDC and Zanu PF have been seen in public talking about the elections but the man of the moment President Robert Mugabe had not been seen in public since the elections but he has resurfaced vowing to fight the good fight to hold on to presidency.

    Here are some interesting things that some people have said through out the election period:

    Teresa Makoni (MDC) – “It’s straight plain rigging.”

    George Charamba (spokesperson for President Robert Mugabe) – “The present delay owes more to thoroughness than to all those sinister motives you are imputing on our impeccable electoral system.”

    Tendai Biti (MDC Secretary General) – “President Morgan Richard Tsvangirai has won this election. He has won this election without a run-off.”

    Bright Matonga (Zanu-PF Spokesman) – “We are not going to see a Kenyan situation. Zimbabweans are very mature, there is no need to fight, as Zimbabweans we don’t have a problem. The problem is coming from the MDC handlers, the United Kingdom and the United States, they are so eager, they want to see the back of President Mugabe, they want Mugabe to go. I think this is an opportunity for Mr. Tsvangirai to give back land to the white man and that’s wish full thinking and that’s a dream that will never come true.”

    Heidi Holland (Author of Dinner with Mugabe) – “Mugabe is a strategist of note. He has outwitted all his opponents to date. That doesn’t mean his day won’t come.”

    Boniface Chidyausiku (Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the UN) – don’t write him off…..if one member fails to get 50% + 1 there is need for a run-off so I think if that comes up he will take the challenge.

  • Zimbabweans in New Zealand Poll Results

    Zimbabweans in New Zealand Ballot PaperBelow are the results of the mock elections organized by the Save Zimbabwe Campaign New Zealand where Tsvangirai won with an overwhelming majority of the votes. Given that there are about 7,000 Zimbabweans in New Zealand, turn out was poor with just under 200 votes made.

    Tsvangirai

    %

    Makoni

    %

    Taugana

    %

    Mugabe

    %

    TOTAL

    CITY

    Auckland

    68

    71.58%

    27

    28.42%

    0

    0.00%

    0

    0.00%

    95

    Christchurch

    20

    71.43%

    7

    25.00%

    1

    3.57%

    0

    0.00%

    28

    Wellington

    25

    83.33%

    5

    16.67%

    0

    0.00%

    0

    0.00%

    30

    TOTAL

    113

    73.86%

    39

    25.49%

    1

    0.65%

    0

    0.00%

    153

    In Zimbabwe, MDC is claiming victory in a number of constituencies based on early unofficial results with their Secretary General Tendai Biti stating that they have taken 66% of the votes in Harare and 88% in Mashonaland West with more results to be released that they hope are in their favour. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said it would start announcing official results late Sunday but the final results are not expected for a few days. It is still a bit too early for MDC to be celebrating a victory because anything can happen.

  • Zimbabwe Has Voted

    DEMOCRACY UNDER MUGABE’S RULEYesterday Zimbabweans took to polling stations to take part in presidential elections with the main candidates being President Robert Mugabe, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai and independent runner Simba Makoni. Just how free and fair the elections were is something that had been put into question well before voting began. There are a number of issues that have been brought up to question the elections such as, the use of cardboard ballot boxes vs. translucent ones, the inclusion of deceased people on electoral rolls. allegations of vote rigging by Zanu PF with the help of an Israeli firm, people resettled by Mugabe being forced to vote for him or risk losing the land they were gifted, the fact that there are considerably more ballot papers than there are voters and the list goes on.

    The online version of the government owned daily paper The Zimbabwe Herald paints a slightly different pro Zanu picture of the situation in Zimbabwe. The government took steps to make sure that they did not get the wrong (or should I say right) kinds of journalists covering the elections. Most western journalists who wished to cover the elections as well as local freelance journalists such as Hopewell Chin’ono were denied accreditation by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission from covering the elections. I for one was looking forward to Hopewell’s coverage after watching his documentary on HIV/AIDS, Pain In My Heart.

    This weekend all eyes will be on Zimbabwe and it will be very interesting to see how things turn out when the preliminary results are released on Monday. Whatever the case may be, my hopes are that Mugabe’s reign comes to an end. He has played a big part in the deterioration of the country’s economic, social and political standing and hasn’t taken notable steps to rectify the situation. As for the other candidates, I am not so sure about Tsvangirai as a president due to all of the disagreement and confusion shown within MDC. As for Simba Makoni, even though he was once a member of Mugabe’s regime he may just be the person to get Zimbabwe back on its feet and on to its long road to recovery.

    On a further note to election related events, individuals here in New Zealand some of whom have close ties to MDC organised mock elections in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch which also to place on the 29th (click here for ONE News coverage). Zimbabwean citizens were invited to vote and do their bit to try and get rid of Mugabe. What this will aid in I do not know because it will not have an impact on events taking place where it really counts, Zimbabwe.

  • Mbeki – Zuma – Quiet Diplomacy

    Last week Jacob Zuma was elected as the new president of the African National Congress (ANC) ousting President Thabo Mbeki. This I find very interesting as he was recently acquitted of rape charges. I would not have thought that he would have that amount of support with his background. He could very well be the president of South Africa in 2009 when Mbeki has to step down.

    South Africa is a country that has been affected by events occurring in their neighbouring country Zimbabwe. On a monthly basis thousands of Zimbabweans illegally make the way to South Africa in search of a better life. In the process they are risking their lives as they cross the crocodile infested Limpopo River which makes up the border between the two countries.

    What goes on in Zimbabwe does not only affect the one country but its neighbouring countries. South Africa has had its fair share of people illegally cross their borders in search of ‘greener pastures’. Thousands of Zimbabweans cross into South Africa each month and their government has blamed a lot of their social problems on illegal immigrants. With them thinking that about immigrants one would think that they would do something to curb these problems. An effective way to do that is to get right to the source of the problem and see what can be done to solve it. Zimbabweans are leaving because they are not able to sustain themselves and their families. It cant be that hard to figure out what the root of the problem is in this respect.

    Mbeki has been called upon a number of times by the SADC to mediate in Zimbabwe but has adopted a policy of quiet diplomacy. But, what is quiet diplomacy and how does it help? With Zuma now leading the ANC and very much on the way to being the next likely president of South Africa it will be interesting to see what kind of a stance he will take on his neighbours to the north. At his inaugural speech he praised Mugabe’s party ZANU PF and said “I don’t think sanctions have produced anything.”

    Should Zimbabwe be left alone to solve its own problems or should the international community intervene? This is not to say that Mbeki has done nothing, he has been trying to mediate between ZANU PF and MDC.

    image courtesy of newzimbabwe.com