(HERALD ZW) Western countries, ZESN under attack
August 5, 2013
Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
POLITICAL analysts yesterday slammed Britain and its Western allies for ignoring assessments by Sadc, Comesa and the AU and their institutions which upheld the credibility of the harmonised elections in an effort to maintain their regime change agenda. The AU, Comesa and Sadc – which had observer teams on the ground – endorsed the conduct of the elections in their preliminary reports released last week.
Ironically Britain, the US and the EU – which were barred from observing on account of their well documented bias – have raised reservations on the outcome citing unproven claims of rigging.
Political analysts who spoke in separate interviews yesterday slammed the Western countries on reneging on their earlier statements that they would be guided by what the AU and Sadc say in their assessment of the polls.
“The Western countries led by Britain are pursuing a self fulfilling prophecy that has become a nightmare. These western people dream of regime change in Zimbabwe through the MDC-T has not only been shattered but has been defeated by the voice of Zimbabweans that voted overwhelmingly in support of Zanu PF on July 31.
“Just before the elections they were saying they would be guided by what Sadc and the AU said. They were hoping Sadc and the AU would issue a negative assessment of the elections. They were hoping the elections would be close and get a second chance to have another GNU. They did not bargain that Zimbabweans are an independent and sovereign people who have used the experience of the past 14 years to reassert that sovereignty,” said political scientist and Zanu PF Politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo.
He said Zimbabweans had expressed themselves in the same manner they did in the 1980 elections.
“Zimbabweans relived the spirit of 1980. This election was in a profound sense reminiscent of 1980 when every indigenous Zimbabwean aligned him or herself with the liberation of the country.
“This time Zimbabweans used the political independence they gained in 1980 to assert their economic independence not only over their resources but also to use those resources to develop themselves and their country,” he said.
Prof Moyo said the Western countries where choosing to listen to statements by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, an organisation that they fund.
“ZESN is their mouthpiece they are not independent voices, they are just their masters’ voice. Before the elections they said they would be guided by what Sadc and the AU said but now they are not listening to that and are refusing to be guided by what the AU and Sadc have said.
“The elections were conducted in a free, fair and non violent manner, you cannot find an election like that on the African continent,” he said.
ZESN received over US$5 million from the European Union, Australian Government Overseas Aid Programme (AUSAID), Norwegian embassy, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Danish International Development Agency (Danida) for the elections meant for sustaining a smear campaign against Zanu-PF and the electoral process.
The organisation produced a negative report before the elections and also produced another damning one after the polls contrary to what Sadc, Comesa and the AU said. The reports have been latched onto by western governments seeking to trash the poll outcome.
ZESN cited unsubstantiated claims of violence and intimidation in its reports.
Prof Moyo said the Western countries had no business interfering in Zimbabwe’s electoral processes.
“National elections are our business and we don’t want the British to poke their colonial nose in our affairs. Our national elections are our business and we exercise that business in terms of the law and what Sadc and the AU said matters to us more than what these former colonisers say,” he said.
Chairperson of the University of Zimbabwe Department of Political Science Dr Charity Manyeruke said the Western countries wanted to impose leaders on Zimbabwe.
“It is unfortunate that the Western nations are taking a position that is uncalled for. They should have listened to the accredited observers like Sadc and AU who are legitimate instead of listening to NGOs that they fund.
“They wanted Morgan Tsvangirai to win but the people of Zimbabwe totally rejected that so their calls for Zimbabwe to have another election are misplaced, it is a done deal, and the people have spoken. It is unfortunate that they supported a candidate who was not supported by the people of Zimbabwe,” she said.
Another analyst Mr Goodwine Mureriwa said the harmonised elections were a clear indication that Zimbabweans were fed up with puppet politicians.
“Zimbabweans spoke loud and clear that they do now want to be dictated to by anyone. The reaction of the Western countries shows that they wanted Zanu PF to lose. Its telling that they chose to listen to an NGO that they fund and ignore assessments from progressive and credible organisations like Sadc and the EU,” he said.
Mr Mureriwa said the manner in which Zimbabweans conducted themselves before and during the elections was a slap in the face of the West who hoped the polls would be chaotic and violent.
“They are now clutching on straws, they wanted the elections to be violent and chaotic so that they maintain the illegal sanctions and pursue their regime change agenda. They are now trying to find an excuse to retain the illegal sanctions through those statements of unsubstantiated irregularities,” he said.
Labels: 2013 ELECTIONS (ZW), COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, FREEDOM HOUSE, ZESN
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(NEWZIMBABWE, REUTERS) Election ‘seriously compromised’: ZESN
01/08/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter I Reuters
WEDNESDAY’S election was "seriously compromised" with up to a million people prevented from voting, local observer group, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), has said.
Most of those turned away were in urban areas, where support for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is strong, said the group, which had 7,000 observers.
It noted that fewer voters were rejected in rural areas, seen as strongholds of President Robert Mugabe.
Mugabe's allies are already claiming a victory in Wednesday's poll.
"We've buried the MDC," a senior party source told Reuters news agency.
It is illegal to publish unofficial results. The electoral commission has five days to declare who won the poll.
Regional observers have praised the peaceful nature of the election.
In a statement on Thursday, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said that potential voters were turned away from 82% of urban polling stations.
In rural areas, it said, the percentage was less than half that.
"The election is seriously compromised," ZESN chairman Solomon Zwana said.
Mugabe, 89, has pledged to step down after 33 years in power if he and his party lose.
Zanu PF and the MDC have shared an uneasy coalition government since 2009 under a deal brokered to end the deadly violence that erupted after a disputed presidential poll the previous year.
The first round of the 2008 poll was also praised for being peaceful - trouble broke out after the results were announced, with Tsvangirai gaining more votes than Mugabe.
Labels: 2013 ELECTION (ZW), ZESN
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(STICKY) (HERALD ZW) Western countries, ZESN under attack
August 5, 2013
Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
POLITICAL analysts yesterday slammed Britain and its Western allies for ignoring assessments by Sadc, Comesa and the AU and their institutions which upheld the credibility of the harmonised elections in an effort to maintain their regime change agenda. The AU, Comesa and Sadc – which had observer teams on the ground – endorsed the conduct of the elections in their preliminary reports released last week.
Ironically Britain, the US and the EU – which were barred from observing on account of their well documented bias – have raised reservations on the outcome citing unproven claims of rigging.
Political analysts who spoke in separate interviews yesterday slammed the Western countries on reneging on their earlier statements that they would be guided by what the AU and Sadc say in their assessment of the polls.
“The Western countries led by Britain are pursuing a self fulfilling prophecy that has become a nightmare. These western people dream of regime change in Zimbabwe through the MDC-T has not only been shattered but has been defeated by the voice of Zimbabweans that voted overwhelmingly in support of Zanu PF on July 31.
“Just before the elections they were saying they would be guided by what Sadc and the AU said. They were hoping Sadc and the AU would issue a negative assessment of the elections. They were hoping the elections would be close and get a second chance to have another GNU. They did not bargain that Zimbabweans are an independent and sovereign people who have used the experience of the past 14 years to reassert that sovereignty,” said political scientist and Zanu PF Politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo.
He said Zimbabweans had expressed themselves in the same manner they did in the 1980 elections.
“Zimbabweans relived the spirit of 1980. This election was in a profound sense reminiscent of 1980 when every indigenous Zimbabwean aligned him or herself with the liberation of the country.
“This time Zimbabweans used the political independence they gained in 1980 to assert their economic independence not only over their resources but also to use those resources to develop themselves and their country,” he said.
Prof Moyo said the Western countries where choosing to listen to statements by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, an organisation that they fund.
“ZESN is their mouthpiece they are not independent voices, they are just their masters’ voice. Before the elections they said they would be guided by what Sadc and the AU said but now they are not listening to that and are refusing to be guided by what the AU and Sadc have said.
“The elections were conducted in a free, fair and non violent manner, you cannot find an election like that on the African continent,” he said.
ZESN received over US$5 million from the European Union, Australian Government Overseas Aid Programme (AUSAID), Norwegian embassy, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Danish International Development Agency (Danida) for the elections meant for sustaining a smear campaign against Zanu-PF and the electoral process.
The organisation produced a negative report before the elections and also produced another damning one after the polls contrary to what Sadc, Comesa and the AU said. The reports have been latched onto by western governments seeking to trash the poll outcome.
ZESN cited unsubstantiated claims of violence and intimidation in its reports.
Prof Moyo said the Western countries had no business interfering in Zimbabwe’s electoral processes.
“National elections are our business and we don’t want the British to poke their colonial nose in our affairs. Our national elections are our business and we exercise that business in terms of the law and what Sadc and the AU said matters to us more than what these former colonisers say,” he said.
Chairperson of the University of Zimbabwe Department of Political Science Dr Charity Manyeruke said the Western countries wanted to impose leaders on Zimbabwe.
“It is unfortunate that the Western nations are taking a position that is uncalled for. They should have listened to the accredited observers like Sadc and AU who are legitimate instead of listening to NGOs that they fund.
“They wanted Morgan Tsvangirai to win but the people of Zimbabwe totally rejected that so their calls for Zimbabwe to have another election are misplaced, it is a done deal, and the people have spoken. It is unfortunate that they supported a candidate who was not supported by the people of Zimbabwe,” she said.
Another analyst Mr Goodwine Mureriwa said the harmonised elections were a clear indication that Zimbabweans were fed up with puppet politicians.
“Zimbabweans spoke loud and clear that they do now want to be dictated to by anyone. The reaction of the Western countries shows that they wanted Zanu PF to lose. Its telling that they chose to listen to an NGO that they fund and ignore assessments from progressive and credible organisations like Sadc and the EU,” he said.
Mr Mureriwa said the manner in which Zimbabweans conducted themselves before and during the elections was a slap in the face of the West who hoped the polls would be chaotic and violent.
“They are now clutching on straws, they wanted the elections to be violent and chaotic so that they maintain the illegal sanctions and pursue their regime change agenda. They are now trying to find an excuse to retain the illegal sanctions through those statements of unsubstantiated irregularities,” he said.
Labels: 2013 ELECTIONS (ZW), COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, FREEDOM HOUSE, ZESN
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Zim civil society calls for dialogue
By George Chellah in Harare, Zimbabwe
Sunday June 29, 2008 [04:00]
THE civil society in Zimbabwe has called for dialogue among political players saying the presidential runoff will not resolve the political impasse in the country. And the civil society noted that Friday's presidential runoff was marred by low voter turnout and heavy police presence especially in the opposition MDC strongholds.
Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), a network of 38 organisations, yesterday stated that it noted the withdrawal of MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai from the election prior to polling day with much concern.
ZESN stated that the opposition leader's withdrawal would have an impact on the credibility and legitimacy of the election outcome. They further stated that the elections were marred with intimidation by the ruling party.
"Considering the low voter turnout, the forcing of voters to go and cast their vote, alarming levels of political violence, evident participation of traditional leaders and known ZANU-PF activists in the voting process, voter intimidation through requests for ballot serial numbers, among a host of electoral flaws," ZESN stated.
"It is ZESN's considered view that the outcome of this election in such a climate of fear and coercion will not reflect expression of the will of Zimbabweans and that the runoff will not solve the current political crisis. ZESN urges political players to engage in constructive dialogue to resolve the prevailing political stalemate."
ZESN noted that the runoff had been marred by low voter turnout and heavy police presence, especially in the opposition strongholds.
"The environment on polling day has been tense following a sustained and violent intimidation campaign against the electorate since the announcement of the March 29 presidential election results. On the eve of the election, there were reports of suspected ZANU-PF supporters confiscating people's national IDs identity cards in Mabvuku, Harare," ZESN stated. "In most rural areas and some high density urban areas like Mbare and Sunningdale, queues were observed amidst reports that people were being forced to go and vote. In Masvingo North, at Matova, St Stanislaus and Mahoto polling stations observers reported that youth militia and traditional leaders were writing down names of all those who were going to the polls as they entered the polling stations.
"And were again asking voters to provide the traditional leaders with serial numbers of their ballot papers as they left after casting their vote. The same pattern was also noted in Esigodini, Chitungwiza, Zengeza and Mufakose where voters were being asked to provide suspected members of ZANU-PF with their serial numbers after voting."
They stated that in Zengeza area, a known ZANU-PF losing candidate in the last elections addressed voters at her house before they cast their votes ordering them to record serial numbers of their ballots and surrender them to her.
"In Mazowe Central at Howard polling station, suspected ZANU-PF members were recording the names of voters in a register. This was taking place from a distance of about 300m from the polling station," ZESN stated. "ZESN also notes alarming reports from Shamva, Chikomba and Marondera that many people, including known literates like teachers were reportedly being assisted to vote. Chikomba Central and Masvingo North Constituencies were some of the areas where ZESN received such reports at the time of this statement."
ZESN stated that in most rural areas, observers reported that traditional leaders forced voters to go and vote.
"There is systematic gathering and forcing of people to the polls particularly in Mashonaland Central in Guruve North Constituency and Mashonaland West in Hurungwe East at Matende Primary School. Suspected ZANU-PF supporters were reportedly moving from house to house calling on all registered voters to go and vote for ZANU PF," ZESN stated. "In Chikomba West Constituency in Mashonaland East, people were being ferried by lorries to go and vote. ZESN also received reports of known ZANU-PF activists serving as polling officials.
"ZESN notes with great distress reports that in some areas, voters are being asked to attend all night vigils tonight Friday at bases dotted across the country to take an audit of who voted and who did not."
Meanwhile, the results of the runoff election in which President Robert Mugabe was the only candidate were yet to be announced by Zimbabwe electoral Commission (ZEC) by press time yesterday.
The results were, however, expected to be announced later on Saturday.
Labels: COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, NGOs, ZESN, ZIMBABWE
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ZESN confirms isolated violence in Zim polls
By Kingsley Kaswend in Harare
Monday March 31, 2008 [04:00]
OPPOSITION Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) secretary general Tendai Biti has claimed his party's victory in Saturday's elections although the counting of ballots is in progress. And the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network (ZESN) has said it was concerned about some isolated incidents of violence and voter intimidation in Saturday's election, which could potentially swell to post-election violence.
Official results for the position of president are not expected until at least today but some local government, senatorial and parliamentary results started trickling in yesterday.
Biti told separate press briefings on Saturday night and yesterday that information they had collected from their agents countrywide, though premature, pointed to MDC winning the election.
"We have no doubt at all, no grain of doubt at all that we have won this election," Biti said. "Nothing short of victory by the people will be accepted."
Police last week warned that they would deal with a deadly blow any premature celebrations of victory based on information from unofficial sources.
And ZESN chairperson, Noel Katutwa, said although the elections were generally calm, some isolated incidents could lead to a potentially explosive situation.
"ZESN has received a disturbing report from Insiza North Constituency involving a shooting incident after an altercation between the opposition and ruling party supporters during an MDC Mutambara rally held on the eve of the elections.
The altercation resulted in the death of a passerby who was hit by an MDC vehicle which had been allegedly shot at by ZANU-PF supporters," he said. "ZESN also received another disturbing incident from Bulawayo that the home of ZANU-PF candidate for Emakhandeni-Entumbani was bombed in the early hours of this morning (Saturday)."
Katutwa said incidents of intimidation were recorded in Chegutu West Constituency at Lowood Farm Polling Station where a ZANU-PF polling agent was advising people on how to vote. "Similar reports were recorded in Mudzi Constituency at Nyemanyora Polling Station", he said.
He said ZESN also received reports which showed that a number of people were turned away from polling stations for reasons including wrong cards and wrong identification particulars.
"Inconsistencies in the voters' roll were also noted. For example, one couple previously registered under Mt Pleasant discovered that one of the spouse's name was moved to Harare West," said Katutwa.
Labels: ELECTIONS, MDC, ZESN, ZIMBABWE
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ZANU-PF wins 389 wards unopposed
By George Chellah in Harare, Zimbabwe
Thursday March 20, 2008 [03:00]
ZIMBABWE’S ruling ZANU-PF has registered another early lead after it won about 389 wards unopposed in the local government elections. ZANU-PF is also leading in parliamentary elections after two of its candidates in Mashonaland Central Province went through unopposed after filing their nomination papers last month. Zimbabwe’s harmonised presidential, parliamentary and council elections are scheduled for March 29, 2008.
According to the Zimbabwe Election Support Network’s (ZESN) latest election update, the ruling ZANU-PF was now ahead of all opposition political parties and independent contestants taking part in the harmonised elections.
ZESN, which is an independent election monitoring group stated that figures obtained from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) revealed that ZANU-PF had won 389 wards countrywide unopposed.
ZESN further stated that both factions of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) only managed to secure a combined number of 39 seats.
MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai led faction got 25 seats and the Professor Arthur Mutambara faction won 14 seats unopposed bringing the combined number of seats won by both factions to a total of 39.
About 1,572 wards throughout the country remained up for grabs in the March 29 harmonised presidential, parliamentary and council elections.
And ZESN chairperson Noel Kututwa noted that despite some administrative problems, the electoral commission was moving rapidly to accredit all 11,000 of ZESN’s anticipated observers and that it appreciated the speed with which the process was occurring.
“ZESN, therefore, urges ZEC to immediately allow accredited domestic and international observer groups access to observe all aspects of the electoral process in particular postal balloting. For Zimbabweans to have confidence in the electoral process, the management of elections must be transparent and accountable.
“This will also enable the winners, regardless of political affiliation, to have the legitimacy to govern. Preventing accredited domestic and international observer groups from observing postal balloting reduces transparency and potentially creates the perception that there is something to hide,” said Kukutwa.
Labels: ZANU-PF, ZESN
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