Zimbabwe - Elections 2000 - Sustainable Democracy

The 20-year ruling party of Zimbabwe squeaked to a narrow victory in the fifth parliamentary elections when the vote counting was completed this morning.

The Zimbabwe African National Union - Popular Front (ZANU-PF) won 61 seats to the Movement for Democratic Change’s (MDC) 58 in the 120 constituencies which have now officially reported. The small ZANU party took a lone seat in eastern Zimbabwe raising the seats held by the opposition to 59.

However, President Robert Mugabe, leader of ZANU-PF has the constitutional prerogative of naming 20, including eight provincial governors and 12 others, to the 150-seat parliament.

Ten chiefs are appointed from the Council of Chiefs, giving ZANU-PF a majority of 91. The figure, however, still falls short of a two-thirds majority by nine seats.

MDC, which fought a tough battle across the country and knocked off eight cabinet ministers -- including two potential aspirants for the 2002 presidential election should Mugabe, 76, decide to step down when his term ends -- has sufficient seats to block any proposed constitutional changes which require a two-thirds majority but cannot block ordinary legislation, including a budget.

Among notable politicians who went down to defeat were Justice Minister Emmerson Mnanagagwa and Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was also defeated by Manicaland Governor Kenneth Manyonda, a family cousin. One of the feistiest candidates in the last parliament, Margaret Dongo of the Zimbabwe Union of Democrats (ZUD) lost her party’s only seat.

It was an unprecedented election, with ZANU-PF’s rural stronghold saving the day as MDC swept 39 urban constituencies, almost all the three Matabeleland provinces and some rural seats as well. The loss of so many constituencies in Matabeleland will undoubtedly be of concern to the ruling party.

Shortly after the results were announced, Tsvangirai told a packed press conference that his party would accept the results and recognize the legitimacy of Mugabe’s government, despite what he called “massive intimidation and vote-rigging.”

He said his own defeat in Buhera North was an example of the “subversion” which took place but that his position as party leader was not undermined. The deputy chairperson of MDC, Gibson Sibanda, defeated Dumiso Dabengwa in Nkulumane, Bulawayo. The MDC executive will decide the parliamentary leader of the opposition, Tsvangirai said.

“I will not seek an easy seat, I am already preparing for the 2002 presidential elections which I will fight for MDC regardless of who ZANU-PF puts up.”

While asserting his party’s acceptance of the government’s right to rule, Tsvangirai said, “there is no way we can accept the legitimacy of this election. There was massive fraud in at least 23 seats, violent intimidation from 14 February to 23 June by ZANU-PF and some of the war veterans.”

On June 23 when most international observers arrived, he said “they cut off the violence showing clearly how orchestrated it was by the ruling party.”

Tsvangirai said he would not rule out discussions with Mugabe concerning the future of the economically-troubled country, but that ZANU-PF had already said it would not meet with MDC.

ZANU-PF has not yet made any official response to the election results. However, the party’s spokesperson Jonathan Moyo said last night the “protest vote was much higher” than he had expected. Moyo said that although there would be more voices in the Parliament, they would not be able to block progressive legislation.

“This is the worst possible result for Zimbabwe,” Tsvangirai charged. “The opposition is not strong enough to defeat or amend ordinary legislation, including the budget with Mugabe’s 30 appointed MPs and chiefs in the House.” Zimbabwe has a “lame duck president whose is hugely mistrusted in the international donor community and an economy which is already in a state of collapse.”

The 23 seats which MDC says it will challenge, include those in which Security Minister Sydney Sekeremayi won by 63 seats in Marondera East and that of Chenjerayi Hitler Hunzvi, the controversial leader of the Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans Association who won in Chikomba constituency.

“These 23 seats are those in which can prove either massive vote-rigging or outright intimidation and we have the support of most international observers and local monitors in stating this election was not free and fair,” the MDC leader said.

David Coltart, who won in Bulawayo South, is the MDC’s legal advisor. He questioned the figures released during the 24 hours of counting by Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede who had indicated the voter turnout was the highest in Zimbabwe’s history at somewhere near 4 million.

“Our polling figures indicate that of 5.1 million eligible voters only 2.5 million cast votes. Where did the others disappear to?”

Coltart claimed MDC won 77 percent of urban votes and 40 percent of rural for a total of 51 percent.

With the results tentatively settled, regional observers are trying to ensure there was dialogue between the ZANU-PF and MDC to avert any possible collapse of order.

Both the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) mission, headed by former Liberian interim President Professor Amos Sawyer, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum, led by Secretary-General Dr Kasuka Mutukwa, have called for a peaceful aftermath.

The SADC Parliamentary Forum, an association of parliaments of the 14-member economic bloc, hailed the people of Zimbabwe for maintaining order during the voting period but added that a detailed statement on the pre-election and post election period would be submitted to its executive committee and the Plenary of the Forum.

“We strongly urge the people of Zimbabwe, the government and the political parties to stand together to maintain and build on this peace and tranquility even after the results of the elections are known. As a SADC regional institution, whose constitutions are committed to peace and democracy, we do not take sides, we are for all the people of Zimbabwe”, the SADC Parliamentarians said in a statement signed by mission leader Nora Schimming-Chase of Namibia.

The forum noted the high participation rates but lamented that “ a number of would-be- voters were turned away from polling stations because their names were reported not to have been included, notwithstanding their claims that they had been registered.”

Mudede has not reported the number of spoiled ballots, but 20 percent of voters were turned away due to registration problems (SARDC).