1 zimbabwe election support network [zesn] - Nehanda Radio

The delay was so unprecedented that the regional body, SADC, was galvanized into
convening an emergency meeting in Lusaka [Zambia] to drum up pressure for the release of
presidential results in Zimbabwe. As if this delay was not nerve-racking enough, the
Zimbabwean voter was in for yet another electoral first when ZEC, the body tasked for the
overall management of elections, ordered a recount of results in 23 constituencies before the
release of the presidential poll, a decision that generated animated debates and speculations
within and across the globe.
When the results were finally released on 2 May 2008, it took almost two weeks to have the
run-off date announced on 15 May 2008 during which the run up to the run off degenerated
into a run over leaving in its wake a trail of destruction, houses burnt down, many people
displaced and homeless, many children orphaned, and community relations torn asunder.
Freedom of assembly and movement were heavily restricted with rural areas virtually sealed
off from opposition rallies, the opposition leadership subjected to sporadic arrests and
detentions, their campaign activities under total blackout on national electronic and press
media. Hate speech, incitement of violence, and threats of war characterized electoral
campaigns, with the ruling party presidential candidate threatening to go back to war if he
lost the election to the MDC presidential candidate, whom he considered a puppet of the
West.
The intensity with which this retributive violence was perpetrated was so shocking that a
week to the 27 June run-off saw Thabo Mbeki, the South African President making spirited
effort to cancel the run-off, urging ZANU PF and the MDC to bury their hatchets and start
negotiating for a Government of National Unity [GNU], a suggestion which however did not
carry the day as Zimbabwe defiantly went ahead with the Election. Calls for the cancellation
of the run off were also echoed by African luminaries such as Nelson Mandela, Desmond
Tutu and Kofi Annan, as well as from the UN Secretary General, Britain and United States of
America.
On 21 June 2008, the MDC presidential aspirant withdrew from the race alleging gross
retributive state violence against his supporters, a development that relegated the election to
a one-horse run off.
The Polling Day was characterized by poor voter turnout in urban areas, an extraordinarily
high number of spoilt ballots [39 975 in the March Election against 131 481 in the June
Election] with a significant number reportedly carrying insulting messages, an unusually high
number of assisted voters, and recording of serial numbers, incidents that point to a banal
breach of voter rights and secrecy. In most rural constituencies, voters were reportedly
herded to polling stations by traditional leaders, instructed to vote for the ruling party
candidate and also ordered to record their ballot papers’ serial numbers and after polling give
them to the local leaders. Soldiers and police presence was reportedly heavy such that in
some cases their presence reportedly overshadowed that of voters.
In stark contrast to the six week delay that accompanied the release of the 29 March
elections, the 27 June results were speedily released and within 24 hours, the winner had
been sworn in as President of Zimbabwe at a function whose regional and international
presence however least resembled past experiences.
The 27 June “run-off” received round condemnation in both process and outcome with a
number of countries such as Botswana, Zambia, Britain and the United States openly
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