Contributor [1] Friday, April 30, 2010-03:00 An analysis of Electoral reforms agreed to by parties to the GPA and the newly constituted Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Special Issue: April 2010 Introduction In 2008, Zimbabweans welcomed the signing of the Global Political Agreement between the three political parties in Zimbabwe namely MDC (T), MDC (M) and ZANU PF. This agreement has led to considerable peace and stability in Zimbabwe. While the agreement was a positive development, its implementation has been fraught with hiccups and a number of stumbling blocks which has resulted in tensions between the parties to the agreement. This led to the recalling of the SADC Mediator President Jacob Zuma to iron out outstanding issues between the principals to the agreement. The media has been replete with reports of how the parties were failing to agree on a number of fundamental issues and had resolved to agree to disagree. While they failed to agree on many important issues, they were able to agree on a gourmet of electoral reforms. While ZESN does not speculate, the fact that parties agreed on electoral reforms gives credence to calls by political actors that an election is imminent in 2011. This issue provides an analysis of electoral reforms political parties agreed on and assesses whether these are sufficient for the conduct of democratic elections in Zimbabwe. A list of reforms agreed on: Handling election results The creation of ward centre for the collation of results for councillors The creation of house of assembly constituency centre for the collation of results for members of parliament Creation of senatorial constituency centres for the collation of results in the senatorial constituency for senators Post election results outside polling stations Post local authority results outside ward centres Post house of assembly results outside house of assembly constituency centre Post senatorial results outside senatorial constituency centre Post presidential results at the house of assembly constituency centre Direct transmission of local authority election results from the polling station to the ward centre and to the appropriate house of assembly centre for records purposes. Direct transmission of house of assembly results from the polling station to the house of assembly constituency centre Direct transmission of senatorial results from the polling station to the appropriate house of assembly constituency centre Direct transmission of presidential results from the polling station to the house of assembly constituency Direct transmission of house of assembly return of senatorial results to the senatorial constituency centre Direct transmission of results of presidential results return from the constituency house of assembly constituency to the provincial command centre en route to the national command centre. Provide candidates or their agents with copies of returns at polling station, ward centre, house of assembly constituency centre and the senatorial constituency centre At the house of assembly constituency centre and senatorial constituency centre, capture returns data for transmission to the national command centre. ZESN welcomes the creation of these centres as they will increase transparency and reduce manipulation of election results. ZESN hopes that the spirit of these provisions will be carried out so that electoral fraud can be minimised. Postal voting Page 1 of 10
Postal votes now limited to officers outside the country on state duty Polling officers, security officers and any other persons involved in the running of elections will be permitted to vote a week before the election. Voting will be done at designated places in the country These ballots will be sent to the relevant polling stations. ZEC will send a schedule of those who have voted in advance to the relevant polling stations. The presiding officers in the presence of polling officers will cross out the names of those in the ZEC schedule from the voters roll. ZESN advocates for the numbers of officers that are eligible to vote through the post to be known in advance. Early voting for those running the elections is a welcome move but this needs to be transparent and open to observation. This means using accessible polling stations. The names of those who would have voted in advance should be cancelled from the voters roll before polling. Clearance certificate for candidature The parties agreed to do away with the clearance certificate from Zimbabwe Republic Police or local authorities for candidates. ZESN welcomes the removal of bureaucratic procedures in clearance of candidates. Voter education While the law provides that voter education will take place 90 days after the proclamation, the time frame between the Proclamation is usually less than the stipulated time and so parties agreed to remove the 90 days time frame. Voter education will take place a week after the proclamation dissolving parliament and calling for elections. ZESN is concerned that the issue of 90 days which was given importance is not the most important issue regarding voter education. It is important to open up space for civic society and nongovernmental organisations to provide non partisan and accurate voter education to the electorate. The issue of the capacity of ZEC to provide voter education given inadequate resources was not interrogated and so the issue of voter education remains a contentious issue that needs to be addressed. ZESN urges political parties to take voter education as a continuous and comprehensive process and not a once off event. Announcement of result Parties agreed it is the sole responsibility of ZEC to announce results. Presidential results will be announced no later than five days from the day after the last day of polling. ZESN welcomes the provision of announcing results timely given that timely release of results gives credibility and integrity to the ballot as late release of results gives room to suspicion of tempering with the ballot and reduces transparency of the electoral process. Polling station specific voter registration/voters roll This new system abolishes the ward based voters roll in which the voter s name was duplicated in the entire ward s voters roll. There were usually five or more polling stations in every ward in which a voter could cast his or her vote. Under the polling station specific voter roll, only voters registered under a polling station can vote at that station. The system seeks to decentralise voter registration as voters will be required to register at a polling station in their locality. While this system may make identification easier and makes voting quicker, it may not have the same results implemented in a country experiencing high levels of election related violence. This system makes it easier for intimidation and retribution to take place as has been experienced in the past when voters experienced violence after the polls. Issues of equal numbers of voters has to be taken into account, some polling stations will have more people than others and this may result in apathy if not addressed, hence more polling centres may have to be placed within a polling stations for those polling stations with more voters. In addition, Page 2 of 10
there is need for voters to identify polling station close to them to avoid going to wrong places on polling day. ZESN poses a few questions regarding the introduction of a polling station based voters roll: in the process of implementing these reforms, is the old voters roll going to be the basis of the polling station specific voter registration/voter roll? Is Zimbabwe going to have a fresh voters registration to make it compliant to the polling station based voters roll? These issues remain vague in the reforms and need to be clarified. Nomination of candidates Parties agreed that nomination of candidates supported by political parties benefiting from the Political Parties (Finance) Act [Chapter 2:04] shall be nominated by way of a nomination form endorsed by the political party. In addition, the political part should appoint and submit to ZEC not more than three authorised persons to make nominations on its behalf. The old procedure remains for independence candidates. ZESN welcomes this move as it reduces the problems of duplicate candidature for one party in the same constituency that took place in 2008 which is not good for political parties as it results in vote splitting. ZESN calls for improved intra-party democracy, which will reduce imposition of candidates and cause cracks within parties. In addition, political parties and ZEC need ensure the participation of special groups and women in electoral processes. Police officer in polling stations The parties agreed to remove the police officer from the polling station as was provided for by the electoral act by the amendment of 2008. The police officer was installed back into the polling station using presidential regulations. Parties agreed to stand by the amendment to remove the police officer in the polling station. In addition, parties agreed that the police officers should not take part in electoral processes such as the assistance of voters as was done in previous elections. While ZESN welcomes the removal of the police officer from the polling station, there are no guarantees that presidential regulations will not be made again that will overturn this provision as has happened before. The fact that assisted voters bring someone of their choice removes the intimidation that existed when someone was surrounded by four electoral officials. ZESN advocates for the creation of Braille materials for blind voters. Election agents Parties are entitled to two (2) election agents one inside the polling station and an alternative outside the polling station. ZESN calls for the safety of election agents as they conduct their duties and after the polls. ZESN has noted that in the past, the gazetting of election agents in the newspapers with their places of residence has resulted in them being targeted and harassed. Thus, ZESN calls for measures to ensure the safety of election agents. Assisted voters Parties agreed to remove the clause that assisted voters such as the blind will be assisted by a person of their own choice in the presence of the presiding officer to make sure the will person fulfils the wishes of the voter. In the case of illiteracy, the person may choose a person of their choice and will vote without the presence of a presiding officer. This provision removes the police officer and two electoral officers. ZESN welcomes have advocating for the removal of all officers and the police officer who may intimidate the voter and obscure free choice. Page 3 of 10
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act Parties agreed to repeal the ZEC Act and for its provisions to be incorporated and consolidated into the Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13]. This move has a number of implications on the independence of ZEC which include more executive authority as the act is implemented by the Minister of Justice and Legal affairs. While ZEC has power to make regulations, these are subject to ministerial approval and ZEC can only received donations on ministerial approval who is also a contestant in the elections which can result in partiality. Transparency relating to printing and distribution of ballots Parties agreed to make an amendment in the electoral act that required ZEC to provide to political parties and candidates participating in an election, the number of ballots printed and distributed to each polling station. The security of ballots papers need to be guaranteed to avoid manipulation of election results. Audit of Presidential Election Results Parties agreed to amend the electoral act and provide for an audit of presidential results to make sure that the numbers add up. This process will ensure more transparency and ZESN advocates that the same audit can be applied to parliamentary and senatorial elections. Availability and accessibility of the voters roll Parties agreed to make the voters roll available to political parties and candidates upon request. However, this is on condition that while CD is open and capable of electronic analysis will not be tampered with. While this is a commendable move, ZESN notes with concern that access to the voters roll for free is only made to political parties and not civil society which has the role to monitor the roll which can lead to electoral fraud if not accurately made. Currently the voters roll is very expensive to buy and only hard copies are available. Run off Parties agreed that where there are more than two candidates in a presidential race, there will be a run-off if no one candidate is able to master votes greater than the totality of votes cast for his/her rivals. In addition, parties agreed that in the proclamation where parliament is dissolved, there should also be an allowance made for a run-off and a date should be set for this eventuality. This is a welcome development and ZESN suggests that parties should agree on a realistic timeframe that does not create a huge vacuum in the governance of the country. This will address the biases that are created when a candidate in the same election has a prerogative to announce the election. Residence qualification of voters Parties agreed that ZEC should have documents that can be accepted as a proof of residence and it can be an affidavit of the person intending to vote or a set of persons with authority in the community who can vouch for the person. This leaves it open to ZEC as to which persons they will deem will have such authority as this was an issue that disenfranchised a number of Zimbabweans from voting as they failed to get supporting letters from prescribed persons if they were perceived to have different political alignments. Delimitation of constituencies The following issues were agreed on regarding delimitation of constituencies: The president in proclamation calls on ZEC to begin the delimitation process. ZEC commences the process and presents the report to the president. The report is tabled in Page 4 of 10
parliament within seven days from date of receipt from ZEC and issues are raised to ZEC about the report. After receiving the preliminary report ZEC prepares a final report within 14 days and submits it to parliament. Within 14 days of receiving the report from ZEC, the president gazettes the delimitation report. After that, the president will make a proclamation to dissolve parliament and announce the election date. ZESN notes with concern that the commission reports to the executive who is also a candidate in the election and yet independence of ZEC would be ensured if report is presented to parliament. Amending the constitution ZESN notes with concern that, parties agreed that amending the constitution to make these provision enshrined in the highest law of the land was cumbersome and they agreed to shelve the matter of amending the constitution and agreed to amend the electoral act to make the provision that the final delimitation report must be gazetted before the issuing the proclamation for the nomination court. Election observers Parties agreed to remove veto powers to the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the proposed accreditation. This is a welcome move as it reduces the propensity to cherry pick regional and international observers which has been a problem in the past. The composition of the accreditation committee for observers gives way to executive interference as it is composed of representatives from the Office of the President and Cabinet, a representative nominated by the Minister and a representative nominated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. ZESN is concerned by the way role of the executive arm as it relates to election observation issues which should be the sole mandate of ZEC. Politically motivated violence Politically motivated violence has characterised the pre and post election periods in Zimbabwe and parties agreed to a number of measures to be included in the electoral law to deal with political violence which include: Set up a special body to receive complaints or allegations or politically motivated acts of violence and to monitor and carry out investigations of such reports Refer allegations to the Zimbabwe republic police for expeditious investigations and prosecutions ZEC is to be empowered to warn candidates, election agents or political parties whom allegations of violence have been made on their own behalf. Set up electoral courts at the magistrates court level to try cases of politically motivated violence committed during the election period. Request the attorney general to set up a special unit in his office dedicated to prosecution of cases of politically motivated violence during the election period. Provide for a special law that upon conviction, the court can make a special order banning candidates from further participation in the electoral process. The Special body is to liaise with the police and multiparty liaison committees. ZESN welcomes these efforts to curb politically motivated violence during electoral processes however there is concern that most of the provisions have more results in places were there rule of law and equality before the law. The police for example was not able to help victims of politically motivated violence in 2008 and there is very little confidence in this body by the citizenry as a body for their protection hence referring cases of violence for investigation and prosecution with the institutions that looked on as the electorate were harassed, killed and maimed seems futile. Political parties work better with a code of conduct they agree to and which is enforceable and not vague Page 5 of 10
prescriptions that work in the presence of certain preconditions such as independence from executive influence. Electoral court The electoral court will be given powers to review administrative decisions taken by officers of ZEC in terms of the electoral act. The court will be empowered to hear appeals on election matters against special decisions of special courts. All disputes that are election related will be presided over by the electoral court and it is to have monopoly jurisdiction, judgements, orders and terms of the electoral court will be enforceable in the same way as judgements, orders or directions of the high court. ZESN notes with concern that in the past, the electoral court has been moribund due to lack of resources. The electoral court needs to be well resourced for it to be functional and effective. Issues the reforms did not address: While the parties agreed on a number of issues, there were a number of issues that were not taken into account which include: the executive monopoly in stating dates of elections where he is a player which could be done by ZEC guided by the constitutional provisions. The president is a contestant as such may call for elections at a time he deems it favourable for his party which may not be democratic. Violence has been a significant issue in Zimbabwean elections and while the electoral act makes provisions for various types of offences such as intimidation, preventing political parties and candidates from campaigning, undue influence, bribery to mention which could have been used in the formulation of a code of conduct for political parties and candidates. It sees that these reforms were agreed on based on assumptions of the existence of the rule of law in Zimbabwe. In a country such as Zimbabwe where there is selective application of the law and where the citizens do not have confidence on the impartiality of the police, issues to do with politically motivated violence need to be seriously addressed using a code of conduct for political parties. The independence of ZEC is an aspect these proposals did not address, yet it is fundamental to the running of free and fair elections. ZESN feels that while some of these reforms are significant, they failed to touch on the fundamental and structural problems that need to be addressed to restore the integrity of the ballot in Zimbabwe. Media and election The reforms did not address issues to do with media plurality, equitable access to media for political parties during election time which has been a contentious issue to biased and partial reporting. Electoral architecture: electoral system and wasted votes in Zimbabwe These reforms did not touch on the electoral architecture such as the electoral system in Zimbabwe which is First Past the Post which has resulted in a numerous wasted votes. ZESN calls for a paradigm shift to more inclusive, accommodative and representative electoral systems. Security sector s role in elections While reforms provide for the removal of the police officer from the polling station and assisting voters, they do not explicitly show that the role of the police and other security forces is to maintain order and security and not the running of elections. Security sector reform is one of the issues that need to be addressed to ensure an electoral environment that promotes democratic elections in Zimbabwe. Removal of presidential powers ZESN is concerned that the reforms do not address the issue of presidential powers as these have overridden some provisions in the electoral acts. There is need to address presidential powers as they relate to electoral laws as the president is a candidate in the very elections he makes regulations for. Page 6 of 10
Special voting: the Diaspora vote The issue of the Diaspora vote remain as anomaly that was not addressed in these reforms. There are a number of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora that have been disenfranchised an issue that needs to be looked at seriously. Political parties finance and the regulatory role of ZEC The reforms did not address the issues of political finance particularly the use of state resources which have the capacity to skew the political landscape in favour of the incumbent. ZESN calls for the separation of state resources from political party processes and ensure that the playing field is level. The electoral environment The proposed reforms did not address issues relating to the electoral environment as governed by POSA and AIPPA. In the past, some parties have been barred from campaigning using these provisions. Some provisions in these two pieces of legislation have curbed freedoms of association and speech which are pertinent in the conduct of democratic elections. ZESN calls for the repealing of repressive provisions within AIPPA and POSA to provide democratic space for the citizenry. Other issues such as the pollicisation of food and humanitarian aid, the role of traditional leaders, paramilitary groups such as youth militias as well as selective application of the law remain outstanding and need to be interrogated as they have a bearing on the electoral environment. The Zimbabwe Election Commission Elections are complex and specialised processes that need to be managed by a body mandated legally to administer election related matters. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is a constitutional body, constituted under Section 61 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. This special issue provides an analysis of the newly constituted ZEC that came into being as a result of the Government of National Unity (GNU). The issue provides an analysis of ZEC and its ability to effectively manage elections in this new dispensation. Experience has shown that the operations and functions of the election management body have a bearing on electoral integrity. There are three models of electoral management bodies. These are the Independent Model, the Government Model and the Mixed Model. An Independent Electoral Management Body is institutionally independent from the executive branch of government and accountable to parliament. The government model is part of and accountable to the executive branch of government while mixed models vary to the extent to which they are independent of the executive branch of government. Mixed models combine aspects of the government and independent models with relative levels of policy and monitoring powers. Models for Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) Independent Model: This model exists in countries where elections are organised and managed by a body which is institutionally independent and autonomous from the executive. The EMB has specialised personnel for the purpose of administering elections. The body holds and exercises full responsibility for implementation of electoral laws and oversee the electoral process. Independent EMBs do not report to the executive branch of government, they are however formally accountable to parliament. They hold competencies to develop regulations independently under the law. The membership of these bodies is sufficiently impartial and does not contain any members of the executive of State. While the independent EMBs budget is approved by parliament and the executive, it has full control over how it is used. Government Model: The governmental electoral management body model exists where elections are managed by the executive branch through a ministry or local authorities. Implementation is subject to executive branch of government. The EMBS is fully accountable to the executive branch of government. Powers are limited to implementation. It is often led by a cabinet minister and its Page 7 of 10
budget from that of the appropriate government ministry. The Mixed Model: this model has dual structures and is composed of two bodies. It has a policy, monitoring or supervisory component that is independent of the executive and another structure whose tasks are controlled by the executive arm of government. It is institutionally independent from the executive branch of government. Has autonomy to monitor, supervise and in some cases implement policies. Dependant on the model some EMBs do not report to the executive branch of government while formally accountable to parliament, the judiciary. Often have powers to develop electoral regulations framework independently under the law. At times powers are limited to implementation. Implementation is subject to the directives of the executive arm of government. At times fully accountable to the executive branch of government. Is composed by members who are outside the executive arm while in the EMB office but at times is led by a minister or public servant. Some have a separate allocated budget and sometimes the budget is a component of a ministry. Zimbabwe adopted a mixed model where the commissioners are subject to executive power through the Minister of Justice. ZEC operations are a function not only of the model but of the electoral framework, social, cultural and political variables. The model used notwithstanding, there are basic principles that govern the ways in which electoral management bodies operate and these include, independence of decision making and action, impartiality, integrity, transparent, efficiency and service orientation. Experiences of other countries have shown that these are easily achieved under an independent model EMB. While in the past, commissioners to the commission have been appointed by the president of Zimbabwe in consultation with the minister of justice, the selection of the newly appointed commissioners was more consultative and a multi party approach which increases levels of confidence in the election management body. However, there are still a number of factors that weaken the independence of this commission which will be discussed below. The focus of this issue will be on the independence, impartiality, neutrality and professionalism of ZEC in its discharge of electoral functions and what areas could affect these pillars. Independence implies that ZEC is not influenced by other organs of power such as the executive; impartiality means that they would apply the law evenly without fear or favour and professionalism relates to the skills of the commissioners in performing the tasks expected of them. Given these pillars that are part of electoral governance, ZESN makes an analysis of the ability of the newly constituted commission measure up to these benchmarks. Making regulations The commission has the power to make regulations, while this is a positive aspect, these must be approved by the Minister of Justice before they can be implemented. Thus the powers are given and then taken. In addition, any regulations for media access made by the commission during elections must be approved by the Minister in charge of the Electoral Act in this case, the Minister of Justice and Legal affairs. Apparently, there are claw-back clauses, which act as constraints to the ability of the Commission to make regulations and therefore rendering them susceptible to the whims of the executive who is also a contestant. Financial Autonomy The effectiveness of ZEC has in the past been hampered by a lack of financial resources. Consequently the conduct of key functions such as voter education and monitoring of the media among other functions have been compromised by lack of funding. Autonomy in financial matters will allow ZEC to determine their priorities and activities and achieve them in time without interference from the executive. Financial autonomy of an electoral management body is an imperative for the independence of the EMBs. ZESN advocates for ZEC to have a consolidated fund of its own independent from the executive and being accountable to parliament. Registration of voters and maintenance of the voters roll ZEC and the Registrar-General s office still share some functions such as the registration of voters Page 8 of 10
and compilation of the voters roll which are under the mandate of ZEC but performed by Registrar- General under the ZEC directions. ZESN has noted within this arrangement there are no explicit rules for compliance from the Registrar-General regarding. This makes their relationship precarious as the lack of explicit rules for compliance does not provide the terms of reference for their working relationship. Voter registration should be the sole responsibility of ZEC. Delimitation of constituencies Delimitation of constituencies is under the control of ZEC but is dependent on a number of issues such as the proclamation of elections by the president and in the past there has been limited time leading to a process that is hurried and controversial. ZESN advocates for the delimitation of constituencies in a transparent way without manipulating electoral boundaries in partisan ways as has happened in the past. Voter education ZEC is virtually in control of the voter education and anyone other organisations other than political parties that would want to provide voter education would have to get ZEC approval. Previous experience has shown that ZEC did not have adequate human and financial resources to carry out this function, which was left to political parties. ZESN recognises the importance of an independent electoral management body in the provision of voter education. In addition, ZESN also notes the need for NGOs and civil society in providing impartial and non partisan voter education. Political environment and election related violence While the law states that ZEC has the power to control the electoral environment, electoral violence has occurred in the past. The lack of an independent commission made it impossible for any action to be taken against the political parties responsible for the violence. ZEC has been powerless to control it violence and bring the political parties to account. ZESN is hopeful that the new commission will be impartial and be able to discipline political parties who engage in violent activities. Control of timing of elections The timing of election in Zimbabwe is subject to the proclamation by the president of Zimbabwe who is also a contestant in those elections. ZEC lacks control on the timing of elections and is therefore reactive to the presidential proclamation. This situation has in the past meant that preparations for elections begin after the proclamation which does not give adequate time to ZEC. ZESN advocates that election time should be specified in the constitution and a calendar put in place. Local, Regional and International Observers The invitation of international and regional observers is currently the mandate of the ministry of foreign affairs and in the past the ministry has cherry-picked observers while observers from states and organisations deemed hostile to the state have been denied access. ZESN is of the view that the role of ZEC should include the invitation and accreditation of observers. This function requires the independence of ZEC and lack of interference from the executive. Summary Conclusions on ZEC The independence of ZEC is therefore compromised on a number of issues due to executive influence through ministerial approval, where the ideal should be parliamentary and not executive. ZEC has the mandate to monitor media conduct during elections but has been limited by financial resources and perhaps the political will to do so effectively in the past. While commissioners may be new brooms, they may face a mammoth task in attempting to alter an institution that has been politicised for so many years. ZESN notes with concern the appointment of a Chairperson who may not be able to entirely commit himself to the work of the commission and whose presence may be little more than symbolic given Page 9 of 10
commitments out of the country. In addition, the installation of a deputy chair from the former Commission who is likely to be in charge of the Commission s processes in the absence of the chairperson raises a number of questions regarding the extent of reform. ZESN is also concerned that there is no legal provision that requires ZEC to operate in a transparent fashion. The constitution need to explicitly define the legal independence of ZEC. Appointment and dismissal of staff must be independent from the influence of political parties. In fulfilling its mandate the capacity of ZEC needs to be enhanced through adequate resourcing and increasing its staff complement. Furthermore the ZEC s budget must be independent from executive power and should rather be regulated by parliament. Formal and practical independence form the cornerstones of an effective Electoral Management Body. Formal independence is provided for by the law and practical independence is provided for in their ability to undertake their operational functions without interference. Thus an independent electoral body should be able to appoint and dismiss its own staff according to its needs. Depoliticisation of electoral governance can only be achieved by the establishment of an independent electoral management bodies. Independence does not mean total disconnection from government but that as a state institution, the body remains accountable to the state and public through parliament. The fact that ZEC S functions are to a large extent subject to ministerial approval limits the operational independence of ZEC. In addition, an independent electoral body should be able to level the political field and ensure that political actors comply with the law. ZESN advocates for an electoral management body that is independent and free from executive control, which reports and is accountable to parliament. Categories: Zimbabwe update [2] Issue Number: 479 [3] (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getelementsbytagname(s)[0]; if (d.getelementbyid(id)) return; js = d.createelement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_us/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appid=1465091963738031&version=v2.0"; fjs.parentnode.insertbefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Article-Summary: In 2008, Zimbabweans welcomed the signing of the Global Political Agreement between the three political parties in Zimbabwe namely MDC (T), MDC (M) and ZANU PF. This agreement has led to considerable peace and stability in Zimbabwe. While the agreement was a positive development, its implementation has been fraught with hiccups and a number of stumbling blocks which has resulted in tensions between the parties to the agreement. This led to the recalling of the SADC Mediator President Jacob Zu...read more [4] Category: Governance [5] Oldurl: http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category.php/zimbabwe/64078 [6] Source URL: https://www.pambazuka.org/node/62497 Links: [1] https://www.pambazuka.org/author/contributor [2] https://www.pambazuka.org/taxonomy/term/4846 [3] https://www.pambazuka.org/taxonomy/term/6529 [4] https://www.pambazuka.org/printpdf/62497 [5] https://www.pambazuka.org/taxonomy/term/3274 [6] http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category.php/zimbabwe/64078 Page 10 of 10