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Zimbabwe stands in the July 30 elections, eight months after Mugabe's dismissal. The African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have a mandate to ensure that the country complies with the norms and conventions relating to the holding of free elections and free. It is also mandated to maintain peace and security in the region. Given that there is a real risk of contesting the outcome of the elections by the losing party, peace and security are therefore threatened.
Siphosami Malunga, Attorney
Dating back nearly two decades, Zimbabweans viewed the AU and Sadc with skepticism and mistrust because of their protection of the regime of former President Robert Mugabe at the expense of Zimbabwean people. On the eve of its most crucial election in years, has the relationship and trust of Zimbabweans in the AU and Sadc changed? In any case, what are the expectations of regional organizations in the next elections. What should Sadc and AU do to help Zimbabwe now?
A History of Mistrust
The attitude of Zimbabweans towards the AU and Sadc reflected a breach of trust in regional and continental institutions to play a fair and constructive role in resolving the country's political crisis. There was a fear that Sadc could intervene to save Mugabe from the dismissal. This mistrust is rooted in the years of failure of both the AU and Sadc to help solve the country's problems during the last decade and a half arising from previous electoral crises.
AU and Sadc are no strangers to Zimbabwe's electoral crisis. Sadc operates under the auspices of the AU. In 2002, the MDC challenged the election result and demanded Sadc's intervention. Despite a clear report from the Pan African Parliament's Monitoring Mission attesting to the defective electoral process, Sadc's state leaders have made an extended back-and-forth that has not occurred. produced no specific results before the next elections in 2008. Mugabe seemed too formidable for his compatriots to challenge.
Even the AU yielded under pressure at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit with former Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa who paid the price for Mugabe's response. Following the fixed, imperfect and bloody election in 2008, Sadc was again tasked with resolving the Zimbabwean crisis with South African ex-president Thabo Mbeki badigned the mediation role. It is now known that despite the receipt of a report from a prominent panel of judges sent to monitor the electoral process that determined that the election was neither free nor fair, and therefore in violation of Sadc's principles and guidelines for democratic elections, Sadc was unable and to pronounce as such.
Instead, Sadc chose to force the parties to form a coalition government that left Mugabe practically in power and Morgan Tsvangirai – the real winner – in a subordinate role.
Between 2009 and 2013, Sadc again had to arbitrate multiple issues related to the implementation of the Comprehensive Political Agreement that he had subscribed to. The majority of outstanding issues related to this agreement, particularly those related to the creation of an environment conducive to free and fair elections, have not been resolved before the next election in Zimbabwe in 2013. [19659006] The 2013 elections were won by Zanu PF, but the result was disputed. Among the concerns raised were allegations of a fixed electoral register – which was not communicated to the opposition in time for elections and an electoral commission lacking independence and endowed with Zanu PF – supporting former military and intelligence officials
. , the opposition has not responded to a court challenge of the result and Sadc has not intervened further in Zimbabwe – until Mugabe's ouster in 2017. At day, Sadc did not publish his report of mission of observation for the elections of 2013.
the block of Sadc
To be clear, the leadership of Sadc in 2002, 2009 and 2013 seems different from the Sadc of 2018. Previously, the Sadc Gentlemen's Club (briefly disrupted by the unexpected entry of Joyce Banda in 2012), had metamorphosed Frontline States, a group of governments of the United States. Southern Africa formed of liberation movements ostensibly to liberate the rest of the region from the last vestiges of the onal rule. The colonial hangover and the solidarity of the war of liberation thus weighed heavily in the calculation and decision making of the body especially because some of the countries including Zimbabwe and Angola were led by the founders of the struggles of liberation in Mugabe and the former Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
In 2018, Sadc is led by a whole new generation of leaders. Mugabe and dos Santos are gone. There are new leaders in most countries, including South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Angola, Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Mauritius and Seychelles. It remains to be seen if the leopard will change places, but for now, almost all new leaders have indicated a different political path from their predecessors.
In Angola, South Africa and Tanzania, Presidents Joao Lourenco, Cyril Ramaphosa and John Magufuli, respectively, have made the fight against corruption a top priority. In Zimbabwe and South Africa, the presidents made economic reform and openness their priorities, while Sadc en bloc took an unprecedented stance by insisting that Congolese President Joseph Kabila respect the constitution of the country. country by holding elections. All these signs indicate a sadc different from what we have known before. It is therefore legitimate to expect that he will act differently from his unenthusiastic and insensitive past.
Norms and Principles of the AU and Sadc
The Principles and Guidelines of Sadc governing democratic elections provide that one to Sadc to observe its elections, this observation will be conducted in accordance with the SADC Protocol on Security Policy, Defense and Cooperation.
With respect to the principles, the Sadc Election Observation Mission must be deployed at least two weeks before the election. The principles set out the following obligations for all Sadc member states: full citizen participation in the political process; freedom of badociation; political tolerance; regular intervals for the elections provided for in the respective national constitutions; equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media; equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and to be elected; the independence of the judiciary and the impartiality of electoral institutions; voter education; acceptance and respect of the election results by political parties declared free and fair by the competent national electoral authorities in accordance with the law of the country; The African Union Charter on Democracy and Governance was adopted in 2007 and entered into force in 2011. It sets out the normative principles and standards of good governance and democracy. in areas such as the rule of law, free and fair elections and the prohibition of unconstitutional changes of government.
Breaking with the Past
AU and Sadc deployed election observer missions to Zimbabwe. The AU Observer Mission, deployed on July 6, is led by former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemiriam Desalegne while the Sadc Mission was deployed on July 21 and led by the US Government. Ambbadador Tete Antonio, Permanent Observer of the AU to the United Nations.
It is important to discuss the past and credibility of AU and Sadc observers in Zimbabwe and elsewhere. In 2002, Sadc's Election Observation Mission declared the elections free and fair despite the serious concerns and conflicting reports of the Pan-African Parliament and the Sadc Parliamentary Forum. The reports of the Komphephe and Moseneke Commission also found that the election was not free and fair.
In 2008, Mbeki, as Sadc's mediator for the Zimbabwe crisis, deployed a team of senior judges to badess the credibility of the election and the role of the military in the race for the presidential race.
The report of this mission has never been made public. Sadc did not comment on the election despite the fact that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) took nearly 45 days to publish the results, and that the period leading up to the second round of voting was over. presidential election was violent leading to the withdrawal. by one of the candidates, Tsvangirai.
In 2013, the Sadc Observer Mission, headed by Bernard Membe, then Tanzanian Foreign Minister, declared that the fairness of the elections in Zimbabwe was questionable because the voters' table had been circulated too late to be verified. the role of voters is not made available in time, the fairness of the election is questioned. The fact-finding mission inexplicably concluded that the polls were "free, peaceful and generally credible". "
As stated previously, no observer report has ever been published for this election.
More recently, in 2017, the AU Observer Mission and observer groups from the European Union, the Commonwealth and the United States determined that Kenya's elections were free and fair, only for the candidate of the losing opposition Raila Odinga to win a court challenge and guarantee the cancellation of elections. "
The Kenyan experience also raised issues in the quality and credibility of the AU election observation, demanding a radical change in the standards and quality of observation.Sadc and the AU have many ways to break with the past and help Zimbabwe succeed in its election.Although all aspects of the election and the pre-election environment must be examined To reach a conclusion on the fairness and credibility of the election, the AU and Sadc observation missions will have to decide on several the credibility and transparency of the elections. elections.
The Role of Voters
The role of voters is once again at the center of controversy and bone of contention in the 2018 elections. In 2018, the voters' table was again circulated late by Zec. There are allegations that what has been distributed is not the final but temporary role and that the role that has been shared with political parties and candidates is different from the final role that has not occurred. still been cleaned by Zec. Other concerns have been raised about the role of voters.
Various badyzes of the role of electors were conducted with conclusions that the voters' table contains anomalies and additional voters. An badysis of the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network positively notes that the 2018 Voter Chart is an improvement over 2013 and that the anomalies in the entries are not significant while another badysis of Pachedu found that the Voters Chart contains evidence of ghost voters, suggesting serious handling of the roll.
The question of the sanctity of the role of voters is essential to the credibility of Zimbabwe's election. In order to put an end to the contentious issue of the timing of the distribution of electoral lists, Sadc and the AU will, at the end of their mission, decide on the implications of the late and incomplete distribution of electoral lists on the electoral roll. electoral list. credibility and transparency of the election.
The Independence of Zec
One persistent allegation surrounding Zec has been its lack of independence based on accusations that it employs current and former security officers whose work is being carried out. allegiance is to the ruling party, Zanu PF. These allegations resurfaced in 2018.
More recently, there have been allegations of conflict of interest with the President of Zec, Judge Priscilla Chigumba, considered by some as exceeding the right to respect for the private life of the president. at the heart of its independence.
The sanctity of voting
The printing and management of the ballot has become one of the most controversial issues of this election. The allegation of the opposition parties is that Zec handles the design, printing and security of the ballot in a manner that violates the electoral laws, lacks transparency and credibility – to unilaterally determine the numbers to be printed, the printers, the security and the storage, and the illegal management of the postal vote – opening the way to possible manipulations and favoritism. It will be necessary for the observers from Sadc and the AU to carefully evaluate each of these allegations and definitively pronounce their implications on the credibility and transparency of the election.
The Voting Process
Voting proper remains the most important aspect of the election. Although this is not yet happening, the conduct of the vote will undoubtedly be central to the decision as to whether the election is free and fair. The ability of voters to vote freely will be critical to the credibility and transparency of elections. The AU and Sadc observation mission will have to deploy effectively across the country to monitor and observe the conduct of the vote in a meaningful way in order to draw reliable conclusions.
Conclusion
Zimbabwe is on the verge of a democratic breakthrough or falling back into a deeper political uncertainty and crisis. The path taken by the country will largely depend on the credible and transparent conduct and results of the electoral process. The integrity and reliability of the AU and Sadc and its observer missions and their reports will be at the heart of determining the credibility and transparency of the elections. In the past, they have miserably let down the people of Zimbabwe.
This time, for Sadc and the AU to help the country achieve a democratic breakthrough, the observation missions of the two bodies will have to be more serious and responsible than the Zimbabwean people. . before.
For this to happen, unlike previous elections, their conduct and their reports will have to deal effectively with all the major election-related concerns in a manner that constitutes the true test of scrutiny and scrutiny. does justice to Zimbabweans. It's not too late to put oneself on the right side of history
Malunga is the executive director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
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