PAP blasts AU over Libya
Saturday, 29 October 2011 00:00
Herald Reporter
THE African Union has come under fire from Pan African Parliament for failure to stamp its authority in stopping Nato from bombarding Libya.
PAP members met in South Africa early this month and expressed displeasure over AU's silence on the events in Libya, which led to the capture and murder of that country's leader Muammar Gaddafi last week.
Cde Joram Gumbo, who is PAP vice president, said PAP members had also raised concerns about Libya's dual membership.
"Members criticised the AU because it didn't take a firm position against Nato. The general feeling was that Africa had shown a great weakness by allowing people from outside to manage our issues here.
"The members said the AU should have sent an army to Libya to stop it falling apart like we have done in other African countries. PAP was very much against Nato intervention," he said.
PAP members, Cde Gumbo said, raised concern with African countries, which have dual membership of the AU and Arab League.
He said this conflict of interests would make it difficult for the AU to act in such cases.
Cde Gumbo, however, said PAP had resolved to send a goodwill and solidarity mission to Libya with a view to meet with the interim leadership on the evolution of the situation in Libya.
He said PAP has also resolved to be involved in the national reconstruction mechanisms to reinforce national unity and to preserve the integrity of Libyan citizens.
In line with the current AU policy of empowering the youths in Africa, Cde Gumbo said PAP had invited youth representatives from all the regions to explain how they would want to be empowered.
"African National Congress youth league deputy president Ranold Lamola told delegates that the only living leader in Africa was President Mugabe because he wants to empower his people.
"He said President Mugabe's lead in making sure black Zimbabweans got back their land for no cent is the best form of empowerment because it had been stolen from them," Cde Gumbo said.
He said Cde Lamola had also told the delegates that the AU predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity had liberated the continent politically and now was the time for the AU to liberate it economically.
Labels: AU, LIBYA, PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMENT, PANAFRICANISM
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PAN-African Parliament calls for fresh poll in Zim
By George Chellah in Harare, Zimbabwe
Monday June 30, 2008 [04:00]
PAN-African Parlia-ment (PAP) election observation mission team leader Marwick Khumalo yesterday called for a fresh and credible election in Zimbabwe, saying the presidential runoff was not free and fair. And Khumalo urged the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and African Union leaders to engage the Zimbabwean leadership into a negotiated transitional settlement. Addressing journalists on behalf of the PAP observation mission, Khumalo noted that the Friday election was not free and fair.
"The mission concludes that the current atmosphere prevailing in the country did not give rise to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections. Conditions should be put in place for the holding of free, fair and credible elections as soon as possible in line with the African Union Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections," Khumalo said. "In the interim, the PAP mission calls on the SADC leaders, working together with the African Union, to engage the broader political leadership in Zimbabwe into a negotiated settlement."
He said politicisation of the security forces led to lack of impartiality and loss of confidence in the voting process.
"Overall, the mission noted that the leadership of the security forces have not changed their position of overt support to the ruling party despite calls, following the March harmonised elections. The discriminatory treatment in granting permission for the holding of campaign rallies, reluctant to arrest alleged ZANU-PF aligned individuals perpetrating violence, is cause for concern," he said.
Khumalo said the mission was dismayed by uniformed police officers on duty wearing the ruling party regalia.
"The independence and impartiality of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is rendered questionable. The role of ZEC in this particular election has been more wanting than the previous election. Its deafening silence was alarming and created a perception of a sequestration body," he said.
Khumalo said the voter turnout was relatively low.
"It is unclear if some voters heeded the call to boycott elections or it was mere voter apathy. It is surprising though that the MDC presidential candidate who withdrew from the runoff, was still voted for by a significant number of voters," Khumalo said. "In many polling stations visited by our mission, it noted that certain male-dominated groups intercepted voters and gave them pieces of paper on which they were required to write the serial number of their ballots.
"An unusually high percentage of spoilt ballots were recorded in the polling stations where our mission observed the counting process. Unpalatable messages were written on many of those spoilt ballots."
Khumalo said political intolerance in Zimbabwe had deteriorated to the lowest ebb in history.
"Compared to the harmonised elections held in March 29, the level of tolerance between ZANU-PF and MDC supporters leading up to the 27 June presidential runoff election had deteriorated to unprecedented levels. On account of an electoral process, neighbours have turned enemies, Zimbabweans against Zimbabweans," he said.
Khumalo said several roadblocks were mounted.
"Numerous road blocks by militia type groups allegedly identified with the ruling party, seriously curtailed free movement of ordinary Zimbabweans and commuters. Some of the mission teams experienced these road blocks first hand," said Khumalo.
President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday went into a solo presidential runoff election despite SADC, African Union and the United Nations calling for its postponement because of the widespread violence.
Labels: ELECTIONS, PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMENT, ZIMBABWE
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PAP queries Zim Electoral Commission over ghost voters
By Kingsley Kaswende in Harare
Monday March 31, 2008 [04:00]
THE Pan-African Parliament (PAP) election observer mission has written to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) seeking an explanation as to why there were over 8,450 ghost voters in a Harare constituency. Head of the mission, Marwick Khumalo said yesterday that the development could lead to a flawed election if it was not properly explained as to how the voters' roll for Harare North Constituency contained 8,450 names with their addresses traced to uninhabited plots.
PAP's observer mission to Saturday's elections wrote to ZEC following complaints by opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Khumalo said his team had written to ZEC chairperson George Chiweshe, seeking clarification on MDC allegations that the discovery was a vote rigging plot by ZANU-PF.
ZEC, Khumalo said, was yet to respond to the allegations, which the opposition feared could influence election results in favour of the ruling ZANU-PF.
"We received tips from some people that there was what they said was a plot to rig the election through the registration of ghost voters in Harare North Constituency. These voters were registered with addresses given in line with plots that they were, according to the details we have, allocated at an area called Hatcliffe and as a mission, we set out to check on the authenticity of these allegations," he said.
"We then discovered that the reports we received tallied with the situation on the ground. There was no evidence of any business that was happening on the ground in question. The area is empty. We have thus asked the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, justice George Chiweshe to look into the matter and respond to the allegations raised in the letter we wrote to him. We hope that there would be urgency in dealing with the issue."
According to Khumalo's letter, the Pan-African Parliament stated that most of the plots in question were "supposedly inhabited by large family numbers of voters who according to their names are seemingly unrelated."
"According to the report of the Delimitation Exercise for the 2008 harmonised Elections, Harare North Constituency comprises wards 18 and 42 with a register of 10,717 and 13,961 registered voters respectively making a total of 24,678 registered voters. ...It has been brought to our attention that out of the 24,678 registered voters more than 8,450 have been registered under block 081083...which is a deserted land with a few scattered wooden sheds," Khumalo wrote.
Khumalo further stated his observer team had discovered that 70 more people were registered under another empty piece of land measuring 300 square metres with the given addresses that did not seem detailed enough to allow verification.
"Taking into account that there have been a lot of complaints from opposition political parties regarding the fact that ZEC has printed approximately 50 per cent more ballot papers than the number of registered voters, the mission would like to request that ZEC clarifies these claims at the earliest of its convenience. Your clarification will certainly allay any suspicion and fears of any wrongdoing," stated Khumalo.
Labels: MARWICK KHUMALO, MDC, PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMENT
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