According to a draft settlement released today , President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe would receive a ceremonial title as head of state and “founding president” while opposition leader Mr. Morgan Tsvangarai would take over the running of the country as Prime Minister. The settlement would also guarantee Mr. Mugabe blanket amnesty for the atrocities committed by his Zanu-PF party since he took power over twenty-five years ago.

Although it has yet to be finalized, spokespersons from both parties seem amenable to the draft. The document will serve as the basis for a meeting that is set to take place tomorrow between the two men under mediation by the South African President, Thabo Mbeki.

AFJN’s concerns for the Zimbabwean people continue in the wake of the June 27th run-off elections:  Despite the withdraw of oppositional candidate Morgan Tsvangirai in response to violence against his supporters and widespread awareness of the election’s illegitimacy, Robert Mugabe was declared the landside winner with more than 85% of the vote and was sworn in for the his sixth term as president. However, while the suppressive and oppressive tactics used by Mugabe’s party to ensure victory have been clearly documented, meaningful pressure for change has yet to be seen, from non-African and African leaders alike.

By Ntama Bahati , Published May 30, 2008

To this day Robert Mugabe is determined to remain in power at all cost.   His strategy is to rule by force, particularly with violence against those who supported his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai during the first presidential election round on March 29, 2008.   As June 27, the run-off day approaches, he continues using intimidation to discourage people from exercising their right to vote.   Mugabe’s ruling party, the Zimbabwe National African Union- Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) restricts people’s freedom of expression and the information available to them whereby people have no access to printed newspapers or objective electronic media coverage other than the pro-Mugabe’s.  Like any dictatorial regime, controlling public life of the citizens is central to keeping power in the hands of a few.   ZANU-PF has extended its violence against the opposition supporters to the countryside, causing massive displacement of the people in order to prevent them from reaching the polling stations where they are registered to vote.  In some cases people are told, without any explanation, not to show up to polling stations; a warning about what to expect on election day and after if Mugabe loses.  Additionally, while the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is supposed to run the election process, members of the army have been enrolled as election officers, the same army that is spreading fear countrywide in favor of Mugabe.   Some of election officers who served on March 29 have been detained and are waiting to face charges, others have been forced to leave their homes or have been killed. 

Another significant challenge faced in the run-off is finding both election officers and observers .  A process of reaccreditation of every observer, local and foreign even those who served on March 29, has been required by the government, a process that has been denying accreditation to many election observers.  This raises concerns about the transparency and the fairness of the election.  The only observers who have been approved are those from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).  Compared to the number of polling stations across Zimbabwe, SADC observers alone cannot provide the monitoring needed to ensure fairness and transparency.  

Posted on May 14, 2008

Issued by Fr Chris Townsend, Information Officer of the SACBC, on behalf of Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI, President of the SACBC. Pretoria – May 13, 2008

 'A run-off election in Zimbabwe will not be possible without an immediate end to intimidation, violence and torture and the deployment of reliable international election observers.'

Out of concern for the people of Zimbabwe, the Bishops of the Catholic Church in Southern Africa appeals for international and regional pressure to end the systematic intimidation, violence and torture in Zimbabwe. The current environment is not conducive to free and fair run-off elections.

Cardinal Wilfred Napier, Archbishop of Durban, and I visited Zimbabwe recently and were told first-hand accounts of systematic intimidation, violence and torture. The victims identified the perpetrators as agents of the Zimbabwe Armed Forces, the Police, the Central Intelligence Organization (C.I.O), War Veterans, Youth Militia and plain thugs.

These human rights abuses are visited not only on those who are thought to have voted for the opposition, but also on those who assisted the Election Process, such as Polling Officers.

This 'reign of terror' has seen many deaths, savage beatings and flight from family, homes and communities. Human dignity is intrinsic to every human being, regardless of political affiliation and must be respected. I call on all political parties to reign in their supporters and end this horror.

I question whether a 'free and fair' run-off election is possible unless there is a will to stop this violence. International Election Observers should be deployed immediately to assess both the remote and immediate preparation for the run-off election.

I call on all Zimbabweans to remember the hope with which they entered the March elections so well expressed in the call by civil society in the document 'The Zimbabwe we want' and to do all in their power to restore Zimbabwe to its rightful place in the family of Nations.

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI,

Archbishop of Johannesburg.
President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC).