Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Zimbabwe Elections Bulletin: ZANU-PF, MDC Heading For Tie; Run-off Vote For President Possible; COMESA Says Poll Transparent, etc.

Zanu-PF, MDC heading for tie

Herald Reporters

THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission yesterday released more election results with indications that Zanu-PF and the MDC Tsvangirai faction are headed for a tie in the House of Assembly poll while the pattern of results in the presidential election show that none of the candidates will garner more than 50 percent of the vote, forcing a re-run.

ZEC had by 10pm last night released results of 160 House of Assembly constituencies with Zanu-PF and the MDC Tsvangirai faction continuing in a neck-and-neck contest.

Indications last night were that the two parties were likely to win between 96 and 99 House of Assembly seats each.

Analysts were projecting that this pattern of results was pointing to a run-off in the presidential poll as neither of the two presidential candidates was likely to achieve the 51 percent margin.

The Constitution states that if a winner in a presidential election fails to garner 51 percent of the total vote, a second round will be called within 21 days between the winner and the candidate with the second highest number of votes.

Zanu-PF had by last night garnered 78 seats, the MDC Tsvangirai faction 77 and MDC Mutambara faction five.

Twenty-five women, among them Vice President Joice Mujuru and MDC Tsvangirai faction vice president Thokozani Khupe, won their tickets to the House of Assembly.

Cde Mujuru won resoundingly in Mt Darwin West while Ms Khupe emerged the winner in Makokoba, Bulawayo.

Zanu-PF won most of its seats in rural Mashonaland, Midlands and Matabeleland South.

The MDC Tsvangirai faction won most of its seats in Bulawayo Urban, Harare, Manicaland, had a fair share of seats in rural Masvingo, especially the eastern side that borders with Manicaland.

MDC Mutambara won its seats in Matabeleland South which it shared with Zanu-PF.


Parties agree on presidential poll results

Herald Reporter

ZANU-PF and the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC faction yesterday agreed that the verification and collation of the presidential results will commence in the presence of their candidates or chief election agents, before announcement.

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chief elections officer Mr Lovemore Sekeramayi announced this in a statement broadcast on national television last night.

He said ZEC was in the process of receiving results of the presidential election from the provinces.

Mr Sekeramayi said the two parties had agreed that the verification and collation of the results would commence in the presence of all the candidates or their chief election agents once all results have been received from the provinces.

"Please note that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has been working with the national chief election agents who have also been present at the national collation centre and are in full agreement with this arrangement.

"We therefore would like to urge the nation to remain patient as we go through this meticulous verification process," he said.

ZEC, Mr Sekeramayi said, commends the electorate for showing political maturity and tolerance before, during and after the polls.

"We urge you to continue in that spirit," he said.

The commission is releasing results from Saturday’s harmonised elections and so far the main contestants, Zanu-PF and the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC faction, are neck-and-neck in the House of Assembly elections.

Supporters of contesting political parties are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the polls, but ZEC chairman Justice George Chiweshe warned earlier this week that the results had to be authenticated by a strict verification process to avoid mistakes.

MDC faction leader Morgan Tsvangirai last night said they would wait for ZEC to announce the final results of the presidential election before commenting on the poll.

Speaking at a Press conference, Tsvangirai urged ZEC to proceed with haste in coming up with the final result of the elections.

"We are not going to be influenced by speculation. We would wait for ZEC before we discuss circumstances of the final result to the people.

"We have our representatives at the National Command Centre with our own results that have been confirmed by ZEC and we would seek to establish the truth in disputed areas."

He said his party acknowledged that the verification process was delaying the announcement of the final result.

Tsvangirai said his party had compiled its own results from various centres across the country and would be comparing these with ZEC’s results.


Polls transparent, peaceful: Comesa

Herald Reporters

The 2008 harmonised elections were conducted in an environment which was transparent and secure enough to guarantee the freedom of the vote and respect the will of the voters, the Comesa observer mission has said.

In a preliminary statement released yesterday, head of the mission Ms Lucie Kasanga said: "The mission did not witness any occurrences that compromised the integrity of the votes cast."

In its evaluation, the Comesa observer team said polling stations allowed easy access to voters, observers and monitors, party agents and guaranteed secrecy of the vote.

The mission said it did not witness or observe any form of intimidation of voters inside or outside the polling stations.

"Law and order were observed in all polling centres visited. Therefore, the presence of security personnel was limited to keeping law and order without interfering in the polling process.

"Voting procedures such as checks on voters national identity cards, and or the voter’s registration slips were used for verification of voters in the voters’ rolls and the application of indelible ink on voter’s finger was strictly adhered to," she said.

The mission observed large numbers of voters were being turned away due to missing names on the voters’ roll or were ‘aliens’ hence were not allowed to vote or were re-directed to go to the correct voting station.

"The mission was, however, concerned that some of these voters might have not gone to find the right voting stations later to vote," Ms Kasanga said.

The Comesa observer mission said agents of political parties and candidates were allowed to witness the process while most voters had good understanding of voting procedures and those who needed assistance were assisted in a courteous manner by polling staff.

The mission said electoral officials had good knowledge of rules of procedure on counting and closing operations and adhered to the law meticulously.

It said polling station staff displayed sufficient knowledge of the electoral procedures and handled complex situations in a professional manner.

The mission said since the electoral process was still going on, all aggrieved parties should address their grievances through appropriate legal channels created to service electoral disputes in a peaceful manner.

It urged people in Zimbabwe, Comesa region and co-operating partners to continue working together to consolidate the democratic system of governance that the country is committed to under its own constitution, Comesa treaty, regional and international instruments.

The mission hailed Zimbabwean people for turning up to express their will and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for the able manner in which they handled the mammoth national task of organising the joint presidential, parliamentary and council elections.

THE Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa has commended Zimbabweans for showing political maturity and upholding peace before during and after the elections.

"The Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa would like to applaud Zimbabweans for holding these landmark elections in a relatively peaceful and non-violent manner," CPIA executive director Dr Leonard Kapungu said in a statement.

The organisation also called upon political parties to respect the outcome elections and for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to speed up announcement of results.

"CPIA regards the elections as crucial in bringing about unity and reconciliation in Zimbabwe. The Centre calls upon all political parties to respect the election results," he said.

Dr Kapungu urged the political party that wins the elections to uphold good governance through the immediate establishment of a Government of national unity and reconciliation as well as enact a people-driven Constitution leading to a new dispensation.

The organisation, however, strongly condemned the cases of violence reported.

The organisation further called upon the Sadc’s initiative on Zimbabwe to continue after the elections and for it to reach a logical conclusion.

CPIA, which is a regional peace organisation, also urged observer missions to remain on the ground until a Government of national unity is formed to avoid giving false reports that might discredit the polls.

The organisation seeks to contribute towards the promotion of sustainable peace, stability and security in Africa through conflict prevention, management and resolution.

"We urge ZEC to speed up the process of announcing results to allay anxiety of our citizens. People are patient but this can lead to violence. So we appeal to ZEC to seep up the process," he said.

CPIA has also worked over the years with various national and regional stakeholders to promote the implementation of Sadc principles and guidelines governing democratic elections as a vehicle in the prevention and management of electoral conflicts.

The organisation has deployed observers throughout the country to monitor the election. The other observer groups that have hailed the elections as free and fair, democratic, transparent and a credible expression of the will of Zimbabweans are Sadc, African Caribbean and Pacific, the Pan African Parliament and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Justice.


Remain calm, Zimbabweans urged

Crime Reporter

THE Zimbabwe Republic Police has appealed to the nation to remain calm as results of the weekend elections are being announced and urged winning and losing candidates to encourage their supporters to uphold the prevailing peace and tranquillity.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said although the situation was calm the force would remain on high alert to thwart any threats of violence.

"As police we will remain on the ground to ensure peace and tranquillity continues to prevail. We will not also tolerate any political violence in the post election period and we urge political parties and their candidates to urge their supporters to celebrate peacefully," Asst Comm Bvudzijena said.

He said there were some quarters who were accusing the police of deploying too many policemen and women.

"This deployment is not exaggerated but it is there to pre-empt any threats of violence," he said. Asst Comm Bvudzijena also appealed to candidates not to taunt each other saying those who win should celebrate in peace and losing candidates should concede defeat.

"We applaud the nation for being politically mature for upholding peace before and during the election and even now. But we want to appeal to the nation to continue upholding peace as results are being announced," Asst Comm Bvudzijena said.

He said police patrols would continue countrywide.


Zim scenario different from Kenya — Kurebwa

Herald Reporter

CHANCES of post-election violence like what happened in Kenya are slim because the Zimbabwean situation is different from the scenario in the East African country, political scientist Dr Joseph Kurebwa said yesterday.

In an interview yesterday, Dr Kurebwa, the chairman of the Department of Political Sciences and Administration at the University of Zimbabwe, said the two countries also experienced different scenarios ahead of their polls.

"There are two different scenarios between Zimbabwe and Kenya. The first is that Zimbabweans have already experienced election-related violence.

More than 1 500 people were killed in post-election violence in Kenya after President Mwai Kibaki was announced winner ahead of opposition leader Mr Raila Odinga.

Dr Kurebwa said the Government and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the electorate had prepared thoroughly for the elections and the outcome.

He said the electorate had shown, by way of commitment in their response to a survey conducted by his department prior to the elections, that they would not want violence after the elections.

"The majority of people in Zimbabwe would not want any poll-related violence as they still have, fresh in their minds, the memories of the liberation struggle, disturbances in the Midlands/Matabeleland region after independence and political violence of 2002.

"Violence has had a direct impact on every one in Zimbabwe and people would think twice before they engage in any acts of violence," he said.

The UZ Department of Political Science and Administration conducted a survey from mid-February to March 15, which assessed the views of 10 32 people drawn from all wards in the country.

Dr Kurebwa commended the way ZEC was handling announcement of the election results.

"ZEC has been cautious in their approach to the announcement of results and as we had indicated in our survey there were indications that some heavy weights would lose the election.

"There has been no efforts to conceal the shocks and this prepares people to respect the outcome of the final results," he said.

He said efforts by security agents in assuring zero tolerance on violence in the run up to the poll, on election day and the post polling period have reassured the nation on the country’s security after the results are announced.

"The security forces have also assured the nation that they would be on full alert and I believe they would not want to precipitate violence and stop the announcement of the results before they are concluded," he said.

Dr Kurebwa was responding to reports that service chiefs had indicated that they would not serve under a Government led by people who did not participate in the liberation struggle. The electorate in Zimbabwe has been commended for maintaining a peaceful atmosphere in harmonised elections with observers to the polls indicating that the situation would remain calm even after the elections.

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