wfn.org | WCC - Zimbabwean presidential elections: universal,

["Sheila Mesa" <smm@wcc-coe.org>]

transparent, fair and free?

World Council of Churches
Update, Up-02-04
Embargoed against delivery
13 March 2002

Zimbabwean presidential elections: universal, transparent, fair
and free?

cf. WCC Press Release, PR-02-09, of 5 March 2002

(Embargoed against delivery)

An international ecumenical team from the World Council of
Churches (WCC) and the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC)
who observed the Zimbabwean presidential elections, 9-12 March,
has issued a statement summarizing its observations.  

Guided by the electoral principles of universality,
transparency, secrecy, fairness and freedom, the members of the
international ecumenical team come to the conclusion that its
observations of the Zimbabwean presidential election process
"preclude us from confirming the elections to be universal,
transparent, fair and free".   

The statement will be presented at a press conference in the
Zimbabwean capital, Harare, on Wednesday, 13 March, at 7 p.m.
local time.  

The text of the statement follows:

Statement of the international ecumenical peace observer mission
on the Zimbabwe presidential election 2002
Harare, 13 March 2002

We, international ecumenical peace observers from the World
Council of Churches (WCC) and the All Africa Conference of
Churches (AACC), have been invited by the president of Zimbabwe,
under the auspices of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, to
observe the 9-12 March 2002 presidential election processes.  

Because we believe in the universality of the Christian Church,
we consider it both a privilege and an inherent part of our
Christian calling to accompany the people of Zimbabwe in their
search for peace and justice via the democratic election of a
Zimbabwean president.  We are committed to non-partisanship,
seeking the will of God, and observing the election process in
line with human rights.  In fulfilling our observer mission, we
have been guided by the principles of universality, transparency,
secrecy, fairness and freedom.  

Universality

Since the country's liberation from a racist regime, the
principle of "one man, one vote" has guided elections in
Zimbabwe.  In a country struggling with economic hardships,
reaching out to every voter in this country is not an easy task. 
We commend the efforts of polling officers and monitors who have
concluded an enormous task, and we applaud the voters who turned
out in millions, showing civic responsibility and endurance.  

But huge numbers of people were denied the possibility of
voting.  In Harare Province, many people gave up queuing and
thousands were turned away, even after waiting for days. 
Pregnant women and others were forced to endure this
mismanagement, which became a violation of the dignity of the
voters.  

We were also concerned about the high denial rate at polling
stations, commonly reaching more than 10%.  This was due, among
other things, to deficiencies in the voter education and
registration procedures, and the rigid application of these
procedures.  The postal vote system only functioned for a limited
and preferred group; polling agents like teachers, for instance,
were sent outside their constituencies and could have been
included in the postal vote. 

Transparency

Technically, the voting and counting followed the prescribed
procedures, and polling agents from the two leading parties were
present at almost all the polling stations we visited.  

We appreciate that the government invited international election
observers from most countries, but regret that only 109 out of
more than 3,650 local observers from the churches were
accredited.  

We think the fuller participation of the civil society in voter
education and monitoring of the election process would have
increased its transparency.  

We are concerned about the lack of public awareness and insight
into the registration process and the supplementary voters' roll.
 

We were reminded of a recommendation by the Zimbabwean Council
of Churches in their 2001 pastoral letter to amend the electoral
law to allow for an independent electoral commission. 

Voting secrecy 

Our impression is that people had their chance to vote in
secret, with the possible exception of postal votes, which we did
not observe.  We observed that the majority of the people
assisted to vote were women, due to illiteracy.  This jeopardized
their access to a secret ballot.  Voter education would have
helped them to practise their right in secret.  

Fairness

We acknowledge the important role of media in informing and
educating the public during an election.  However, we observed
that the print media in Zimbabwe were polarized, with
government-owned media supporting the ruling party and most of
the private-owned media supporting the opposition party.  This
polarization exacerbated an already hostile atmosphere, to which
some Western media also contributed.  In Zimbabwe, the radio, the
sole medium in most of the rural areas, and TV are controlled by
the governing party.  

Some of the limitations on the universality of the votes also
led to limitations in fairness, giving one party an advantage
over the others.  The disenfranchisement of voters in Harare is
an example of this.  Closer analysis of the registration process
may also reveal some problems of fairness and justice, including
the issues of postal votes, supplementary voters' roll, and dual
citizenship.  

The many cases of intimidation we observed or which were
reported to us constitute a serious limitation to fairness during
these elections.  

Freedom

To participate actively in an election, freedom of expression,
association and assembly, and from intimidation are essential. 
The most serious problem in Zimbabwe during this election was the
political violence.  We received detailed information from the
churches and human rights organizations that about 150 people
were killed in political violence since April 2001.  Many
incidents of harassment, rape, malicious damage to property and
general breakdown in the rule of law were reported to us, some of
which took place during the days of the election.   

The violence comes from the rivalry between the two leading
parties.  Both parties were behind violent episodes, but
documentation from human rights organizations as well as our own
observations indicate that the clear majority of cases should be
blamed on the ruling party.  

The Zimbabwean churches have repeatedly and strongly appealed to
all parties to stop the violence and the recruitment of young
people for organized violent activities.  A special
responsibility rests with the police to be non-partisan in
political antagonism and respond to all types of violence.  

We appeal for an end to the many arrests of opposition parties'
officials and of others voicing opposition.  We are also
concerned about the so-called "fast track laws" which have
allowed freedom of assembly and press freedom to be obstructed. 

These observations preclude us from confirming the elections to
be universal, transparent, fair or free.  

Peace

We hope there will be a road to peace from what the Zimbabwe
Council of Churches calls "a very frightening culture of
politically motivated violence".  But there is no easy road to
peace.  The road to peace includes the values of truth, justice
and reconciliation.  As expressed in Psalm 85, "Mercy and Truth
have met together, and Justice and Peace have kissed each other."
 There can be no sustainable peace without economic justice. 
Peace can only be initiated through honest and open dialogue
between earlier antagonists.  

The ecumenical movement, globally and in Africa and as it
observes the Decade to Overcome Violence, is engaged in creative
peace programmes.  We call upon churches and all peace-loving
persons around the world to pray for the people of Zimbabwe and
not forsake them, but support them in these difficult times.  

For further information, please contact Karin Achtelstetter,
Media Relations Officer
Tel:  (+41.22) 791.61.53,  Mobile:  (+41) 79.284.52.12

**********
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches,
now 342, in more than 100 countries in all continents from
virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is
not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The
highest governing body is the assembly, which meets approximately
every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general
secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

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