Thinking Democratically: A Comprehensive Approach to Countering and Preventing Shrinking Space
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This leads <strong>to</strong> a complete lack of representation <strong>and</strong> inclusiveness, where politics is reserved for the<br />
rich <strong>and</strong> parties serve as a temporary vehicle <strong>to</strong> attain elected office. When the winners are in power,<br />
they have no loyalty whatsoever <strong>to</strong> the party neither <strong>to</strong> their elec<strong>to</strong>rate, <strong>and</strong> will do anything <strong>to</strong> keep<br />
the deeply flawed system that got them elected in place, so as <strong>to</strong> ensure future wins.<br />
Even though elections have been organised <strong>and</strong> conducted in a relatively transparent manner, there<br />
is no elec<strong>to</strong>ral accountability at all, as congress is elected by means of closed lists controlled by<br />
parties. Congressmen lead the efforts <strong>to</strong> restrict civic space, through laws that restrict civil society’s<br />
ability <strong>to</strong> operate, amongst others with control mechanisms requiring unnecessary permits <strong>and</strong><br />
approval for projects. The business <strong>and</strong> criminal elite has also coopted several judicial bodies in order<br />
<strong>to</strong> protect corrupt networks <strong>and</strong> ensure impunity.<br />
In response <strong>to</strong> corruption sc<strong>and</strong>als <strong>and</strong> restrictive actions by the government, coalitions of citizens,<br />
media, NGOs <strong>and</strong> civil society groups have been relatively successful in mobilising people in strikes<br />
<strong>and</strong> countering such attacks. However, overall there is very little trust in democratic institutions, as<br />
evidenced by the low voter turnout in the 2019 elections.<br />
6.7 Zimbabwe<br />
While the removal from power of long-st<strong>and</strong>ing President Robert Mugabe created hopes for an<br />
opening of democratic space, the dynamics of restricting space for contestation have not<br />
fundamentally changed. As Zimbabwe has veered between various forms of authoritarian rule since<br />
independence, civil society has almost always operated under restrictions in exercising their<br />
fundamental freedoms, with waves of repression (2008, 2018-2019) <strong>and</strong> periods of relative opening<br />
(2000, 2018). While overall the general environment for civil society <strong>and</strong> the opposition is less<br />
repressive than it was around 2008, with fewer arrests <strong>and</strong> less use of repressive legislation, the<br />
current regime has fallen back in<strong>to</strong> authoritarian patterns of repression at certain occasions, most<br />
notably during post-election protests in August 2018 <strong>and</strong> during protests in January 2019.<br />
In the early 2000s, Zimbabwe adopted a series of laws <strong>to</strong> limit civic space: a law imposing excessive<br />
burdens <strong>and</strong> restrictions on NGOs (the Private Voluntary Organisations Act); a law limiting freedom<br />
of press <strong>and</strong> media (the Access <strong>to</strong> Information <strong>and</strong> Protection of Privacy Act); <strong>and</strong> a law used <strong>to</strong><br />
restrict freedom of assembly (the Public Order <strong>and</strong> Security Act). These laws were later amended <strong>to</strong><br />
include more categories of ac<strong>to</strong>rs <strong>and</strong> types of activities <strong>and</strong> applied both by the Mugabe regime <strong>and</strong><br />
in the post-Mugabe era. The Public Order <strong>and</strong> Security Act was, for instance, used by the military in<br />
August 2018, when the army fatally shot protes<strong>to</strong>rs demonstrating against irregularities in the<br />
elec<strong>to</strong>ral process. Existing laws such as a rural by-law have also been used <strong>to</strong> target specific people,<br />
including human rights defenders. Violence has also been used against civil society, protes<strong>to</strong>rs,<br />
opposition figures <strong>and</strong> media ac<strong>to</strong>rs, with a major chilling effect on dissenting voices. For instance,<br />
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