1 zimbabwe election support network [zesn] - Nehanda Radio

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [as previously was the case], it is instructive to note that the
Committee cannot accredit a person if the Foreign Minister objects to such person observing
the election which in essence means that the law gives veto powers to the Minister. ZEC is
therefore not responsible for determining which groups to accredit. Rather, the Minister for
Justice, Parliamentary and Legal Affairs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs respectively first
approve applications by domestic and international organizations. This has shortchanged many
credible international organizations that are signatories to Declaration of Principles for
International Observers. Further, the fact that accreditation was only conducted in Harare and
Bulawayo, placed greater hardships on individuals who wanted to serve the people of
Zimbabwe by being a non-partisan election observer.
Local observers were required to apply for an invitation from the Minister of Justice before
seeking accreditation. Up to 11 June, only international and regional observers and the media
had been accredited. Limits were placed on the number of people that ZESN could field to the
ministry for accreditation, the number effectively reduced from over 8667 in the harmonized
election to 500 in the presidential run –off, a development that posed a serious risk to the ability
of civil society to monitor and observe elections in order to identify anomalies in the electoral
process especially on polling day. Late invitations of civil society organizations also had a
negative impact on the invitation of observers, their accreditation and deployment. Equally
disturbing was ZEC’s decision to scale down the numbers of local observers that were placed
by the Minister of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs was a disturbing development. Also
questionable was why the accreditation of foreign observer missions was extended while the
same privilege was denied to local observers. As a result ZESN did not field any accredited
observers for the run off. Since ZEC had published polling stations in excess of 9231, this
warranted more observers. To improve election observation, it is recommended that the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission have the decisive say on which observers to accredit without
any ministerial veto power as is currently the case, decentralize to districts, easy way of
accreditation, and sponsoring the security of NGOs and human rights defenders. The Electoral
Commission must also accredit sufficient numbers of local and international observers to allow
comprehensive observation of elections. This function should lie solely in the hands of the ZEC
and should be done without any cherry-picking of observers. The security of independent and
domestic election observers must be guaranteed.
NGOs and Human Rights Defenders
Human Rights NGOs also bore the brunt of retributive violence. There was widespread
harassment of observers, human rights lawyers, journalists and others who were thought to be
either sympathetic to the opposition or did not give adequate coverage to the ruling party. Civil
society and the work they do should be accorded more respect as it is important for democratic
principles to take root in Zimbabwe. Attacks on civil society organizations in Zimbabwe should
be condemned as they are a violation of the right of Zimbabweans to have a voice.
Security Forces
Reports of police, army and prison officers playing partisan roles recur throughout the ten
provinces. Cases where acts of violence have been committed either directly by state services
or in their full view have also been fully documented. The police in line with their mandates of
impartial application of law must act swiftly and decisively in dealing with the perpetrators in
accordance with the law. It is therefore recommended that:
• Security forces should conduct themselves in a professional and non-partisan
manner and should not serve the interests of individual political parties. The
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