REPORT OF THE ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSIONS FORUM OF SADC (ECF-SADC) 1. HARMONISED ELECTIONS OF ZIMBABWE OF 29 TH MARCH 2008

Transcription

1 REPORT OF THE ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSIONS FORUM OF SADC (ECF-SADC) 1. HARMONISED ELECTIONS OF ZIMBABWE OF 29 TH MARCH PRESIDENTIAL RUN-OFF ELECTIONS OF 27 TH JUNE

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I LIST OF ACRONYMS 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 5 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 6 ABOUT THE ECF SADC 6 GENERAL TERMS OF REFERENCE 6 ABOUT THE MISSION 6 CHAPTER TWO THE POLITICXAL BACKGROUND OF ZIMBABWE ELECTIONS 7 CHAPTER THREE THE CONSTITUTION AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK 7 THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION 7 THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM 8 THE ELECTION PROCESS 8 Proclamation and Nomination 9 Voting 9 Counting and declaration of results 9 CHAPTER FOUR THE MEDIA AND ELECTIONS 9-11 CHAPTER FIVE PRE-ELECTION PHASE 11 DELIMINATION OF CONSTITUENCIES

3 VOTER EDUCATION 12 VOTER REGISTRATION 12 ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING 13 ACCREDITATION 13 STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT 13 LOGISTICS AND FUNDING..13 CHAPTER SIX POLLLING DAY OPENING OF POLL 14 VOTING PROCESS 14 CLOSING OF POLL 14 COUNTING OF VOTERS 14 ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS 14 CHAPTER SEVEN CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS APPENDICES PRELIMINARY STATEMENT LIST OF ECF-SADC DELEGATES 17 DEPLOYMENT PLAN ECF MISSION IN ZIMBABWE 16 ELECTION RESULTS PART 2 PRESIDENTIAL RUN-OFF ELECTIONS

4 C/O IEC Botswana 7 th Floor - Block 8 Government Enclave Gaborone, Botswana Tel (+267) (+267) Fax (+267) (+267) URL- Ref: ECF 15 th October 2008 The Chairperson Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Harare Zimbabwe Honourable Justice Chiweshe, It is my honour and privilege to submit the ECF-SADC Observer Mission report on the Zimbabwe harmonized elections held on the 29 th March We believe that this report will assist your commission in addressing areas requiring improvement in elections administration. Through this report, other electoral commission in the SADC region will also learn lessons from the Zimbabwe electoral process. Thank you. Yours faithfully Rev. Felix Mokobi Mission Leader Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC Observer Mission in Zimbabwe Cc: ECF President ECF Chairperson All SADC Electoral Commissions Forum Presidency: Rev A. Malumalu - President (DRC), Justice A. Msosa -Vice President (Malawi) EXCO: Chairperson: Justice I. Mambilima (Zambia), - Vice Chairperson: Chief S.G Dlamini (Swaziland), Justice A.C P C. de Sousa ( Angola) Justice S. Gaongalelwe (Botswana) Mr A Rahman (Mauritius) M.K. Mwinyichande ( Zanzibar) Justice G. Chiweshe ( Zimbabwe) 4

5 LIST OF ACRONYMS 1. MDC Movement for Democratic Change 2. ZANU PF Zimbabwe African National Union-Patrionic Front 3. ZESN Zimbabwe Electoral Support network 4. ECF Electoral Commissions Forum 5. EISA Electoral Institute of Southern Africa 6. MMPZ Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe 7. ZEC Zimbabwe Electoral Commission 8. SADC Southern African Development Community 9. ZMC Zimbabwe Media Commission 10. PAP Pan African Parliament 11. EC European Commission 12. PEMMO principles of Electoral management, Monitoring and Observation ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The mission acknowledge the support and cooperation from the following: ZEC Chairperson Justice G. Chiweshe, the Commission and members of ZEC staff who agreed at all times to meet the ECF mission. The ECF appreciate the logistical support extended by ZEC during ECF consultative meeting Other observer missions who extended invitations to ECF during the observation period All resource persons who presented on different areas during a de-briefing seminar for ECF members Staff of Crowne-Plaza Monomotapa, Harare for the hospitality Showman Tours and Leisure services for transporting the mission for the entire period. 5

6 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE ECF-SADC The Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC Countries (ECF-SADC)was launched in July 1998 and is governed by a constitution which mandate it to perform the following: Strengthen cooperation amongst electoral commissions in the Southern African Development Community Promote democracy as a political system of responsible and accountable government through the electoral process The principles of Electoral Management, Monitoring and Observation (PEMMO) are the major observation tool used by ECF missions. PEMMO is a joint project between ECF and Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA). These guidelines continue to be resourceful to ECF mission s whenever observers are deployed to SADC countries. Through election observation, the electoral commissions members are able to identify potential areas of support for one another. GENERAL TERMS OF REFERENCE The General terms of reference for the Mission were to observe the election environment, the conditions in which the election would take place, the conduct of election and whether the results reflect the participation of the people and the conditions observed in the electoral process, evaluate and assess these processes, reflect on them and make recommendations that will contribute to the improvement of the electoral process in Zimbabwe. ABOUT THE MISSION The ECF received an invitation from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission dated 1 st February 2008 to observe the harmonized elections held on the 29 th March In response to this invitation, the ECF duly deployed a 21 member observer mission led by Rev Felix Mokobi, a member of the Independent Electoral Commission of Botswana. The Electoral Commissions represented in the Observer Mission were from the following countries. Angola Botswana Democratic republic of Congo Lesotho Malawi Mozambique Namibia South Africa Tanzania Zambia The first delegates arrived in Harare on the 18 th of March The Mission set up six teams which covered six of the ten provinces in Zimbabwe. These were Harare, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central, Midlands and Manicaland. All the teams managed to make pre-poll visits to their assigned constituencies to familiarize themselves with the location of the polling stations and established that the logistical issues had been addressed. 6

7 CHAPTER TWO THE POLITICAL BACKGROUND OF ZIMBABWE ELECTIONS Zimbabwe became independent in 1980, with the February 1980 elections based on universal adult suffrage and the distribution of seats was: ZANU (57) PF ZAPU (20), UANC (3). The 1985 elections were held in an atmosphere of tension and insecurity because of the dissident problems in Matebeleland and Midlands which led to the declaration of martial law in the affected areas. The 1990 elections were the first presidential elections held in Zimbabwe following the (PF) ZAPU/ZANU (PF) Unity Accord of December 87. It was also decided that presidential election would be held every fifth year. The rationale cited for this was the continuity of government. In the 1995 parliamentary elections ZANU-PF won all but on seat which went to ZANU. The 1996 presidential elections were won by Robert Mugabe. The June 2000 parliamentary and February 2002 presidential elections took place against a background of widespread political violence and instability. During the period from March 2000, there was a mass invasion of white owned farms following government introduction of a policy of land restitution to blacks. This process was characterized by acts of unprecedented violence against white Zimbabwean farm owners, many of whom have subsequently fled the country. The period leading up to these elections also saw the formation of a new party, the Movement for Multi Party democracy (MDC) which directly challenged Mugabe s ZANU_PF. In these elections, ZANU-PF won 62 seats, MDC won 57 seats and ZNU won one seat. In 2005, multiple elections were held for Presidential, senate, national assembly and ward councils and this year( 2008), for the first time, harmonized elections have been held. CHAPTER THREE THE CONSTITUTION AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK INTRODUCTION Before the constitutional amendments No 17 of 2005, the Electoral Supervisory Commission was the Constitutional Body that was mandated to supervise the registration of voters and the conduct of elections of members of parliament. It was not clear as to which body was to supervise presidential, senatorial and councillors elections. Constitutional Amendments No 17 of 2005 saw the establishment of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (hereinafter referred to as ZEC) following the repealing of the then section 61 that had established the electoral Supervisory Commission. In this part, a legal overview of the ZEC, the election system and process will be given basing on Zimbabwe Constitution, Electoral act No 25/2004, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act No.22/2004 and the presidential regulation. ZIMABABWE ELECTORAL COMMISSION ZEC, being an independent Constitutional Body, is composed of seven members, the chairperson and six other members. In terms of the law, the Chairperson of the Commission should be a judge of the High Court or the Supreme Court or a person qualified to be appointed as such, appointed by the President after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission or if not, on presidential information to the senate. The other six members are 7

8 appointed by the President from a list of nominees submitted by the Committee on standing Rules and Orders and at least three should be women. Unlike the Electoral Supervisory Commission, ZEC is mandated to supervise the registration the registration of voters, ensuring proper custody and maintenance of the voters rolls and registers, conducting voter education, delimitation of wards and constituency boundaries for election purposes, giving instructions to the Registrar General of Voters in regard to the exercise of his functions under the Electoral Laws or other related laws and to persons in the employment of the state or of local Authority for the purpose of ensuring efficient, proper, free and fair elections accrediting election observers and media monitoring during election period. In discharging its constitutional responsibilities, ZEC is regulated by the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Electoral Act, SADC Guidelines for democratic Elections and other relevant legal instruments. Chief Elections Officer and Registrar general of Voters form the integral part of ZEC. Whereas the Chief Elections Officer is appointed by the Commission in terms of the Elections Act, is the head of the Commission Secretariat, the Registrar General of Voters is a public office created by the Electoral Act, charged with overseeing and registration of voters and works under the instructions of ZEC. THE ELECTION SYSTEM Zimbabwe practices the First Past the Post electoral system for Parliamentary and local authority elections, that is, House of assembly and local Government elections. Where there are two or more candidates, the candidate with greater number of voters is declared the winner. If an equal number of votes have been declared for two or more candidates, there will be a drawing of lots in the presence of a judge of the supreme Court or the High Court. The Single member Majority is used for the Presidential elections. In this system, a candidate should get a greater number of votes than those cast for all his/her competitors combined (50%) plus 1 vote). The law provides for a re-run after 21 days if any of the contesting candidates fail to get a majority. In the re-run elections, only the candidates who received the highest and next highest number of valid votes are eligible to contest the election. If the two candidates receive an equal number of votes, parliament shall, as soon as practicable, meet as an electoral college and elect one candidate by secret ballot and without prior debate. The national election under the ZEC jurisdiction therefore includes presidential, senatorial, members of assembly and councillors elections. The tenure of office of president, pursuant to Constitutional amendment No. 18 of 2007 is 5 years concurrent with the life of the parliament. It follows therefore that, the tenure of office for senators and members of Assembly is 5 years as well. Unlike past elections conducted, the 29 th of March 2008 Zimbabwe election is the consolidated one whereby all 4 categories of elections are harmonized and will be conducted after every 5 years. THE ELECTION PROCESS Zimbabwe is divided into 10 provinces, 210 Constituencies and 85 Councils. The registration of voters is done under the administration of the Registrar General of Voters office. Constituencies registrars, deputy constituency registrars and assistant constituency registrars are delegates of Registrar General of Voters for purposes of registering voters in constituencies. 8

9 Any Zimababwean who wishes to be registered as a voter for any constituency may present oneself at the constituency registrar s office and complete the prescribed form for the registration purpose. He will furnish all relevant details including his residence. On filling the form as prescribed and on acceptance of applicant s details, the applicant will then be registered. PROCLAMATION AND NOMINATION The president of Zimbabwe, pursuant to the Constitution, gave a proclamation published on the gazette dated 24 th of January 2008 whereby the election date was announced to be 29 th of March Along with that he convened the nomination courts for purposes of nominating candidates for presidential election, 60 senators and 050 councillors respectively. The parliament was dissolved on the midnight of 28 th march VOTING In terms of the Electoral Act, those appearing in the voters roll are the ones who are entitled to vote. In an interesting development, a person who is registered and might be outside his constituency on the prescribed voting day for apparent reasons as provided under section 71 of the Act, may apply to the Chief Elections officer for the issue of a postal ballot paper. In this regard proper records are kept and a person so expecting to vote is prohibited from voting at the place of registration. Presiding Officers in the polling stations are availed with the list of those who are expected to vote by way of post ballot papers. COUNTING AND DECLARATION OF RESULTS In terms of the Electoral Act, counting of results after the completion of voting is done at the polling stations and thereafter results are displayed in a conspicuous place outside the polling station. Results are then taken to ward collation centre where all ward results are collated and the winner for councillor seat is announced. It follows then that results are displayed outside. The collated results are then taken to a constituency collation centre where all ward results are collated and the winner for the House of assembly is declared and a copy of all results is displayed outside. Those results are further taken to senatorial collation centre where results for all constituencies are collated, then the winner of senatorial constituency is declared and all results collated are displayed outside the centre. All results collated are finally taken to the national collation centre where presidential results are collated and then the winner is announced. Along with that, the presidential and senatorial results are displayed outside the centre. CHAPTER FOUR THE MEDIA AND ELECTIONS Freedom of expression, including freedom of the media is guaranteed in the constitution of Zimbabwe and supported by other legislative provisions. There are however pieces of legislation that restrict the right to freedom of expression and these include the Public Order and security Act Chapter 11:7 (POSA), the access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act Chapter 10:27 (AIPPA), the Broadcasting services Act Chapter 12:06 (BSA) and Criminal Law Amendment Act. These acts make it difficult for the media to freely operate. One of the developments in the media fraternity is the establishment of the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) which replaces the media and Information Commission. The ZMC is responsible for registering newspapers and accrediting journalists. The ZBC will be appointed by the president from a list of 12 nominees submitted by the parliament s Committee on 9

10 Standing Rules and Orders. The ZBC is authorized to establish a Media Council comprising of representatives nominated by: - an association of accredited journalists - an association of publishers - an association of advertisers - an association of mass media trainers - an association of churches - an association of trade unions - an association of trade unions - an association of youth The above composition of members of the media Council is fairly representative of representative of respective media stakeholders. The Mission however noted the existence of a Media Council of Zimbabwe established in 2007 comprising, media monitoring project Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Union of Journalists and the Media Institute of Southern Africa. The ECF Mission had consultative meetings with the Media Monitoring Project-Zimbabwe and the Media Institute of Southern Africa which both felt that the Zimbabwe Media Commission was not legally constituted and therefore cannot take any decisions relating to election matters. Similarly, MISA felt that the creation of the Media Council of Zimbabwe. Through the introduction of new part IV A in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act, the commission has been given the additional function of monitoring the media during an election period. Through consultative meetings and workshops with media houses and personnel, regulations on the conduct of media during an election period were drawn. These regulations have since been gazette (March 2008) and a committee chaired by the ZEC Deputy Chairperson with members co-opted from the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe and the Media and Information Commission is now monitoring the media to ensure compliance with the law. The recommendation principles on media as reflected on the Principles for election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADAC Region (PEMMO) are as follows: All contesting parties and candidates should have equal access to the public media. Media regulations should be issued by an Independent Media Authority responsible for monitoring and regulating the media on a continuous basis, and Media coverage of the elections should be subjected to a code of conduct designed to promote reporting. In assessing whether the above principles have been adhered to, the following excerpts are cited which gave the mission a picture of the media status in the country. PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE COVERAGE OF THE 2008 HARMONISED ELECTIONS BY THE ZIMBABWE BROADCASTING (as provided by ZEC) The preliminary report was on the level of compliance with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Media Coverage of Elections) Regulations, 2008 in particular, compliance with the coverage election programmes, advertisements and news and current affairs programmes by the public broadcaster Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH). The period of assessment is 29 th February to 12 th March Zimbabwe has a number of newspapers, of which The Herald is a daily. A number of consultative meetings with electoral stakeholders suggested that The Herald Newspaper is biased towards the ruling party-zanu-pf. The mission also observed this trend. The state owned television ZBC covered election campaigns in the whole country. News on radio stations and television were provided regularly. 10

11 Zimbabwe Television news bulletins A total of 240 stories on elections were featured on television news bulletins during the period 29 th February to 12 th March These were on Lunchtime, Nhau/Indaba, and News at Eight Late News, Sunday Edition and Weekend Morning and Business Today. One hundred and fiftyseven ZANU-PF campaign stories were broadcast while eighteen MDC Tsvangirai, Presidential candidate Simba Makoni were featured. Munumbara, two Zimbabwe Development Party. The electoral body, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was featured in eight stories while Government was covered in 15 stories where various departments were highlighting the need to conduct peaceful elections. A total of 18 stories covered views on the elections from people representing various organizations. RADIO NEWS BULLETINS Seven hundred and seventy three news bulletins on elections were monitored during the period under review. Radio Zimbabwe feared one hundred and sixty-six ZANU-PF, twentythree MDC Tsvangirai, eight MDC Mutambara, four Zimbabwe Development Party and twelve Independent Presidential candidates Simba Makoni stories. ZEC was covered on fourteen occasions and Government departments dealing with elections were featured on six stories and another six stories were on civic organizations. This trend was repeated on all radio stations with minor variations. CURRENT AFFAIRS PROGRAMMES A television current affairs program, Media Watch which discussed trends on observing elections, the role of election observers and the role of the media during an election was also monitored during the period under review. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission through a social documentary programme, the Mai Chasimba Show carried out voter education programmes, which were vital in providing information to members of the public. The programmes provided voter with clear and understandable information on: How and where to register and how to check the voters registers. The nature of election-local, parliamentary, senatorial and presidential Voting procedures and where to vote The importance of voting CHAPTER FIVE PRE-ELECTION PHASE DELIMITATION OF ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES Following amendments to the laws, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was mandated to delimit electoral boundaries for all future elections. Before this year s elections, the Delimitation Commission responsible for all future elections. Before this year s, the Delimitation Commission was responsible for the delimitation exercise. The delimitation exercise by ZEC started in December 2007 and was completed on the in December 2007 and was completed on the 5 th January 2008 when the commission presented its preliminary report to the President. The final report was submitted on 17 th January 2008 with the following delimitation results House of Assembly constituencies - 60 senatorial constituencies wards 11

12 Each province was allocated six senatorial constituencies whilst the distribution of the 210 House of Assembly constituencies per provinces was as follows: Bulawayo (12), Harare (29), Manicaland(26),Mashonaland Central (18), Mashonaland East (23), Mashonaland West (22), Masvingo (26), Matebeleland North (13), Matebeleland South (13) and midlands (28). With the above background, the Presidential, House of Assembly, Senatorial and Local Government were conducted on the same day; 29 th March The delimitation report was distributed to political parties, candidates other stakeholders. Maps showing all distributions were published in the print and electronic media/the ECF mission had access to these maps which facilitated their work during development. VOTER EDUCATION During a briefing on the state of preparedness by ZEC, the mission noted the following voter education initiatives: - Voter education programmes conducted prior to the inspection exercise - Development of four voter educators per ward to inform the public on the polling date and candidates contesting all elections. - The electorate conscientized on the ward boundaries, colours of the ballot papers, polling times and polling stations. - Encouragement of political parties to campaign peacefully - Usage of dramas, print and electronic media, posters, meetings, pamphlets to drive voter education. VOTER REGISTRATION The mission was informed that as at 5 th December 2007, the number of registered voters was Before then, a national mobile voter registration exercise was conducted on 18 th June to 17 th August This exercise, conducted by the Registrar General of Voters in the Ministry of Home affairs, included birth and death registrations. The Commission supervised this exercise which resulted in registration of voters and transfers. The voters rolls were updated following the delimitation exercise and inspection of rolls commenced on the 1 st February 2008 to 14 February This was after the proclamation of the date of elections. THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN Generally there was calmness and peace, colorful posters, billboards and other campaign materials were used by different contesting parties. The first team of ECF Mission members to arrive in Harare had an opportunity to witness some of the final campaigns held in Harare and their feedback regarding the campaigns indicated that: Generally the run-up of the public at all the rallies was very high, In all rallies, members were colourful in their party gears, It was interesting that supporters started going to the rallies spots as early as 9am in the morning whereas the actual activities started in the afternoon. This move suggested commitment on the part of supporters, and All rallies were done in a cordial, peaceful, disciplined and in a tolerant manner. 12

13 Members benefited a lot from the daily ZBC programme whereby contesting parties were given a forum to communicate their manifestos and address other contemporary issues. The programme seemed popular to the people of Zimbabwe to maintain peace. From all the interactions the mission had with a number of stakeholders, it emerged that there were no reports of violence and intimidation in general. This could be an indicator of political tolerance and desire by the people of Zimbabwe to maintain peace. RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission recruited around 90, 000 presiding and polling officers who would be trained accordingly. The arrangement at the polls will be such that there will be one presiding officer and ten polling officers manning each polling station. The poll staff was recruited from Public Service Commission, Local Authorities, Statutory Bodies and Health Service Board. The Commission further indicated that electoral officers will be deployed to Wards in which they are registered to vote and that there will be 10% reserve personnel per constituency. More that 50% of the polling officers at the polling stations visited were observed to be female. ACCREDITATION Accreditation of various stakeholders started ahead of elections. Members were accredited without any hassle. The ECF Mission was exempted from accreditation fees. Other observer missions were exposed to paying between USD 100 and 300 to be able to participate in the elections. Stakeholders Engagement The mission noted that ZEC had consultations with a number of stakeholders in the following areas; Delimitation of electoral boundaries Multi Party liaison committees Voter Education programmes Regulation on monitoring of media during elections LOGISTICS AND FUNDING ZEC was fully funded by Government of Zimbabwe to enable it conducted the harmonized elections. However, for operational purposes, a National Logistics Committee was established to mobiles resources for the elections. CHAPTER SIX POLLING DAY On polling day, the mission deployed to the various areas as originally arranged. All teams selected polling stations which they targeted for observing the opening of the poll. In all instances, the Mission observed that the presiding officers had followed instructions to the letter in ensuring that all present in the polling stations were shown the empty ballot boxes before these were sealed. In all cases observed, the polling opened on time and the process started smoothly with polling officers displaying professionalism and efficiency. Party agents from at atleast two parties were present to observe the polling as well as the police who had been deployed.although fears had been expressed by the opposition parties that the presence of police officers inside the polling stations would have the effect of intimidating the voters, this was not necessarily evident, even though the Mission does recognize that this can be hard to prove either way. 13

14 The Mission further observed that queues of voters were orderly, peaceful and free from any acts of intimidation or eleventh-hour attempts to influence the vote. Whilst in the majority of cases, there had been queues at the start of the polling, it was observed that as the day wore on, the queues quickly shortened and finally disappeared and voters began to trickle in. The efficiency of the process was therefore admirable, there were concerns that the voter turn-out had not met the expectations and that notwithstanding the efficiency of the process; the voters had clearly not turned up in numbers. This is a matter which the ZEC may wish to investigate further as it may have an impact on the effectiveness of the voter education process in future elections in Zimbabwe. Closure of the Poll and Counting of Ballots In terms of Section 54(1) of the Electoral Act No. 25 of 2004, the hours of polling are 070:00 hours to 19:00 hours. The section also makes provision for a voter who, at the time fixed for the closing of the polling station concerned, is in the queue of persons waiting to cast their votes, to record his or her vote before closing the polling station. In virtually all cases observed by the Mission, the polling stations closed at 19:00 hours or within 5 minutes of that to allow for those who were still in the queue and preparations began for the ballot count. In accordance with the procedure spelled out in the Electoral Act, the Mission observed the breaking of the seals on the ballot boxes, the emptying of the ballot boxes, the reconciliation of the number of the ballots with the number of the counterfoils of the used ballot papers and the verification of the unused ballot booklets. The actual counting of the ballots was observed by party agents and others permitted to be present during this process. In all cases observed the process itself was observed to be thorough, methodical and transparent, even though the mission was of the view that the counting could be speeded up considerably. It was observed the presiding officers tended to be uncertain as to the correct procedure and therefore depended on the confirmation of their teams before moving to the next step. This had the effect of slowing down the entire process. That said, the verdict of the mission on the counting process is that it was meticulously executed and left no doubt in anyone s mind about its fairness and transparency. Announcements of Results With the closing of the poll and the counting of the ballots complete late at night on polling day, members of the mission retired with the expectation that the following day announcements the result would begin. This did not happen. The whole Sunday nothing had come through on the electronic media. The same evening the Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission came on air to announce that because these were harmonized elections, they had presented a unique challenge to the ZEC. He however assured the nation that announcements of the results would begin the following day at hours. It did begin. But was very slow. 14

15 ANNEXURE A PRELIMINARY STATEMENT : March 2008 C/O IEC Botswana 7 th Floor - Block 8 Government Enclave Gaborone, Botswana Tel (+267) (+267) Fax (+267) (+267) URL- THE OBSERVATION STATEMENT SUBMITTED TO THE ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL COMMISSION INTRODUCTION The Electoral Commission Forum (ECF) of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries received an invitation from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission dated 1 st February 2008 to observe the Harmonized elections held on the 29 th March 2008 in Zimbabwe. In response to this invitation, the duly deployed a 21 member Observer Mission. The Mission hereby presents this statement on its observations. A full report will be availed at a later stage. About ECF-SADC This is an autonomous body of electoral commissions in the SADC regions which cooperates and supports each other on electoral matters. The Forum is governed by a constitution that seeks to promote: Conditions conducive to free, fair and transparent elections Democracy as a political system of responsible an accountable government through the electoral process. The rationable behind the Forum observing elections in the SADC region, is to assist fellow election management bodies identify areas requiring improvement in elections administration. Mission Composition The Electoral Commissions represented in the Observer Mission were from these countries: Botswana, Democratic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. The first delegates arrived in Harare on the 18 th March, 2008 and the Mission was led Rev. Felix Mokobi, a Commissioner of the Independent Electoral Commission Botswana. Before sending an observer mission, the Forum sent a two-member mission to Harare, Zimbabwe on a pre-assessment mission to establish the context on which elections will place and make logistical preparations for the ECF mission. 15

16 Mission activities The Mission organized a seminar where a number of stakeholders were invited to make presentations on the following: The state of preparedness by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission The role of the media during election period The perspective of political parties on elections The Zimbabwe Electoral System and The perspective by Civic Society and Non- Government Organizations. The Mission also had consultative meetings with SADC, PAN-African Parliament and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to share notes about the context in which elections will be conducted. Deployment The Mission set up six teams which covered six of the ten provinces in Zimbabwe, namely; Harare, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central, Midlands and Manicaland. All the teams managed to make pre-poll visits in their assign provinces of familiarize themselves with the location of the polling stations and to assess the level of preparedness on the part of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. Observations The Mission made the following:- The run-up to the poll was peaceful with no reported incidents of violence All political parties were given an opportunity to campaign freely In terms of coverage, the state media almost exclusively covered the campaign by the ruling ZANU-PF with very little coverage of opposition parties. Campaign adverts were fairly balanced In keeping with the principles of equitable access to communicate their manifestos The opening of polling stations procedures were adhered to. There were polling party/independent agents and other local/international observers at most polling stations visited Election logistics/materials were adequate in all polling stations. The lay-out within the polling stations was properly done. The polling staff was adequately trained The closing of poll and counting procedures were adhered Concluding Remarks On the basis of the fore-going statement, the Mission is of the opinion that the elections were conducted in compliance with the laws of Zimbabwe. In addition, the Mission is satisfied that the recommended principles in the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO) were implemented. Contrary to the doubts that ZEC did not have capacity to deliver credible elections, the mission was satisfied that ZEC was indeed prepared to conduct the harmonized elections. Hon. Commissioner Rev F. Mokobi Mission Leader 31 st March 2008, Harare, Zimbabwe 16

17 ANNEXURE B LIST OF ECF-SADC DELEGATES ECF-SADC OBSERVER MISSION TO ZIMBABWE ELECTIONS- March 2008 Country Delegate Designation Angola Dr Claudio H da Silva Commissioner Botswana Rev. K. F. Mokobi Commissioner B. Machacha Election Chief Admin Lesotho M. Nkhahle Commissioner South Africa Justice Msimang Commissioner Sweetness White Senior Admin Officer Tanzania Judge John Mkwawa Commissioner Mchanga H. Mjaka Commissioner Moses N. Minga Election Officer Ton. S. Mbilinyi Senior State Attorney Zambia Crispin N. Akufana Public relation officer Eric M. Kamwi Legal Counsel Alick Chakawa Assistant Electoral Officer Namibia Victor Tonchi Chairperson Ruusa Shipiki Commissioner Ushi-K Nauyala Control Officer ECF (Botswana) Hilda Modisane ECF Programme officer Malawi Prof Brown Chimphamba Commissioner Mary Mangwiza Manyusa Commissioner Dick Mzumara Commissioner DRC Kankonde Kankonde Vice President- Logistics Sengi Mukulu Antoine Plenary Member Mozambique J. Bucaine Commissioner 17

18 FINAL COPY OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS FOR THE 2008 HARMONIZED ELECTIONS HARARE PROVINCE Constituency Makoni Simba H. Mugabe Robert G. Towungana Langton Tsvangirai Morgan Total Valid Votes Cast 1 Budiririo Chitungwiza North Chitungwiza South Dzivarasekwa Epworth Glen Norah Glen View North Glen View South Harare Central Harare East Harare North Harare South Harare West Hatfield Highfield East Highfield West Kambuzuma Kuwadzana Kuwadzana East Mabvuku-Tafara Mbare Mt Pleasant Mufakose Southerton St Mary's Sunningdae Warren Park Zengeza East

19 29 Zengeza West TOTAL 25,234 61, , ,995 Constiuency Percentage BULAWAYO PROVINCE Constituency Makoni Simba Herbert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Towungana Langton Tsvangirai Morgan Total Valid Votes Cast 1 Bulawayo Central Bulawayo East Bulawayo South Emakhandeni-Entumbane Lobengula Luveve Magwegwe Makokoba Nketa Nkulumane Pelandaba-Mpopoma Pumula TOTAL 35,510 11, ,657 96,685 Constiuency Percentage MANICALAND PROVINCE Constituency Makoni Simba Herbert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Towungana Langton Tsvangirai Morgan Total Valid Votes Cast 1 Buhera Central Buhera North Buhera South Buhera West Chimanimani East Chimanimani West Chipinge Central Chipinge East Chipinge South Chipinge West

20 11 Dangamvura-Chikanga Headlands Makoni Central Makoni North Makoni South Makoni West Musikavanhu Mutare Central Mutare North Mutare South Mutare West Mutasa Central Mutasa North Mutasa South Nyanga North Nyanga South TOTAL 13, ,592 1, , ,098 Constiuency Percentage MASHONALAND CENTRAL Constituency Makoni Simba Herbert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Towungana Langton Tsvangirai Morgan Total Valid Votes Cast 1 Bindura North Bindura South Guruve North Guruve South Mazowe Central Mazowe North Mazowe South Mazowe West Mbire Mt Darwin East Mt Darwin North Mt Darwin South Mt Darwin West Muzarabani North

21 15 Muzarabani South Rushinga Shamva North Shamva South TOTAL 6, ,626 1,129 75, ,265 Constiuency Percentage MASHONALAND EAST Constituency Makoni Simba Herbert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Towungana Langton Tsvangirai Morgan Total Valid Votes Cast 1 Chikomba Central Chikomba East Chikomba West Goromonzi North Goromonzi South Goromonzi West Maramba Pfungwe Marondera Central Marondera East Marondera West Mudzi North Mudzi South Mudzi West Murewa North Murewa South Murewa West Mutoko East Mutoko North Mutoko South Seke Uzumba Wedza North Wedza South TOTAL 10, ,965 1, , ,734 Constiuency Percentage MASHONALAND WEST 21

22 Constituency Makoni Simba Herbert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Towungana Langton Tsvangirai Morgan Total Valid Votes Cast 1 Chakari Chegutu East Chegutu West Chinhoyi Hurungwe Central Hurungwe East Hurungwe North Hurungwe West Kadoma Central Kariba Magunje Makonde Mhangura Mhondoro-Mubaira Mhondoro-Ngezi Muzvezve Norton Sanyati Zvimba East Zvimba North Zvimba South Zvimba West TOTAL 11, ,730 1, , ,161 Constiuency Percentage MASVINGO Constituency Makoni Simba Herbert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Towungana Langton Tsvangirai Morgan Total Valid Votes Cast 1 Bikita East Bikita South Bikita West Chiredzi East Chiredzi North Chiredzi South Chiredzi West Chivi Central

23 9 Chivi North Chivi South Gutu Central Gutu East Gutu North Gutu South Gutu West Masvingo Central Masvingo North Masvingo South Masvingo Urban Masvingo West Mwenezi East Mwenezi West Zaka Central Zaka East Zaka North Zaka West TOTAL 12, ,672 2, , ,245 Constiuency Percentage MATABELELAND NORTH Constituency Makoni Simba Herbert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Towungana Langton Tsvangirai Morgan Total Valid Votes Cast 1 Binga North Binga South Bubi Hwange Central Hwange East Hwange West Lupane East Lupane West Nkayi North Nkayi South Tsholotsho North Tsholotsho South Umguza

24 TOTAL 35,895 42,825 1,781 70, ,112 Constiuency Percentage MATABELELAND SOUTH Constituency Makoni Simba Herbert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Towungana Langton Tsvangirai Morgan Total Valid Votes Cast 1 Beitbridge East Beitbridge West Bulilima East Bulilima West Gwanda Central Gwanda North Gwanda South Insiza North Insiza South Mangwe Matobo North Matobo South Umzingwane TOTAL 36,213 46,156 1,929 34, ,183 Constiuency Percentage MIDLANDS Constituency Makoni Simba Herbert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Towungana Langton Tsvangirai Morgan Total Valid Votes Cast 1 Chirumanzu Chirumanzu-Zibagwe Chiwundura Gokwe Gokwe-Chireya Gokwe Gumunyu Gokwe-Kabuyuni Gokwe -Kana Gokwe-Mapfungautsi Gokwe-Nembudziya Gokwe-Sasame

25 12 Gokwe-Sengwa Gweru Urban Kwekwe Central Mberengwa East Mberengwa North Mberengwa South Mberengwa West Mbizo Mkoba Redcliff Shurugwi North Shurugwi South Silobela Vungu Zhombe Zvishavane-Ngezi Zvishavane-Runde TOTAL 19, ,831 2, , ,787 Constiuency Percentage PROVINCIAL TOTALS Makoni Simba Herbert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Towungana Langton Tsvangirai Morgan Total Valid Votes Cast 1 Bulawayo Harare Manicaland Mashonaland Central Mashonaland East Mashonaland West Masvingo Matabeleland North Matabeleland South Midlands TOTALS 207,470 1,079,730 14,503 1,195,562 2,497,265 Percentage of Total Votes Cast

26 PRESIDENTIAL RUN-OFF ELECTIONS 27 th JUNE

27 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The Electoral Commissions Forum (ECF) of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries received an invitation from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission dated 19 th May 2008 to observe the Presidential Run-off elections and three House of Assembly byelections held on the 27 th June 2008 in Zimbabwe. In response to this invitation, the ECF duly deployed a 25 member Observer Mission. Mission Composition The Electoral Commissions represented in the Observer Mission were from; Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Zambia. The first delegates arrived in Harare on the 20 th June, 2008 and the Mission was led by Malefetsane Nkhahle, a Commissioner of the Independent Electoral Commission of Lesotho. Prior to this mission, a 21 member ECF mission observed the March 29 th harmonised elections. The Mission hereby presents its full report including recommendations. CHAPTER BACKGROUND TO PRESIDENTIAL RUN-OFF ELECTIONS Zimbabwe held its first Harmonised elections on the 29 th March 2008 amidst the multiple elections that previously used to be held separately such as the Presidential, Senatorial, Parliamentary and Local Authority Elections. The period after the holding of harmonised elections on the 29 th Mach was first characterized by peace and tranquility as the electorate anxiously awaited the results. All results were released, the announcement of presidential results was done on the 02 nd May 2008, exactly 5 (five) weeks after the elections took place. The Presidential results were as follows; Morgan Tsvangirai votes which translates into 47.9% of the total percentage, Robert Mugabe (43.2 %), Dr Simba Makoni getting (8.3%) and Langton Towungana receiving (0.6) of the total ballot cast. As a result of lack of absolute majority win by candidates of 50% + 1 for the presidential election, there was a cause for the holding of a presidential run-off election. Thus the electoral law section 110 of the Zimbabwe Electoral Act provides that where no candidates receives a majority of the total number of valid votes cast in a presidential election, a second election shall be held in accordance with the Zimbabwe Electoral Act. However, in the second election, only the two candidates with the highest number of valid votes cast at the previous election shall be eligible. After the results were released, ZANU-PF requested a recount in 23 constituencies; MDC-T resisted the recounting process through litigation. ZEC ordered a recount in those constituencies. ZANU-PF furthermore contested 52 constituency results through an election petition which has since not been resolved. 27