MDC Alliance has the Duty to Ensure Credibility of Election

By Grace Kwinjeh, Opinion

Less than a week before the 30 July 2018, harmonized elections in Zimbabwe, there is an increased use of state institutions, such as the police and the judiciary to tilt the balance in favour of ZANU-PF.

Not that this is a new phenomenon, the Emmerson Mnangagwa regime, like Robert Mugabe’s before it is manipulating state institutions and selectively applying the law in order to disenfranchising and disempower perceived political opponents.

Regardless, over the past two decades, the MDC has complied with the laws of Zimbabwe and used the courts to settle disputes, be they electoral or otherwise. But, the result has been the same – a consistent selective application of the law and judgements consistent with a captured judiciary. The result is that in Zimbabwe there is judiciary inconsequential on matters of an electoral or political nature. This is important for this election’s observers, international and regional, who might consider the judiciary as an alternative for the MDC Alliance to resolve electoral disputes.

In the past week, there appears to be a collusion of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), the judiciary and Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to disempower the people and deprive them of any recourse. On 24 July 2018, ZEC held, according to the Chair of the National Multi-Party Liaison Committee, its last meeting with political parties and independent candidates. Of the demands made by the MDC Alliance and other political parties, ZEC agreed to abandon the open voting booths, agreed to publish the number of printed ballot papers. It, however, refused random testing of the ballot papers, arguing as it did on the design of the ballot paper that it would be an administrative nightmare.

On the same day, the High Court ruled that the ZEC was not obliged to release the voters’ roll with voters pictures. In making the ruling, Justice Zhou argued that “there is no reason why the publication of the photograph should be allowed to people without a legitimate reason to have it.”  This is despite several political parties, including the MDC-Alliance, Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe, People’s Democratic Party, Coalition for Democrats, National Constitutional Assembly supporting the petition.

In addition, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, in a letter addressed to Douglas Mwonzora, refused to provide clearance for the MDC Alliance to hold mass action against the ZEC on 25 July 2018. One of the six reasons was that the venue of the protest was booked by the Ministry of Sports, Arts and Recreation from 17 July to 4 August 2018.

“You previously held two similar demonstrations against ZEC on the 5th of June 2018 and the 11th of July 2018 over the same issues,” was one of the reasons given by Chief Superintendent Ncube, Officer Commanding Police in the Harare Central District.

He then signed off by threatening to evoke provisions of Section 29 of the Public Order and Security Act, a law that Mugabe used to quash mass action and protests.

In a space of one week, ZEC has declared dialogue with political parties over, the High Court has ruled in favour of ZEC not making a voters’ roll accessible to political parties as stipulated in Section 9 (c) of the Electoral (Voter Registration) Regulations of 2017, and ZRP has threatened to use force to stop the MDC Alliance mass action on 25 July 2018. A week before the election, the MDC Alliance is left with no possibility of dialogue with ZEC, judicial recourse or clearance to organize its supporters.

Except for one option, non-violent civil disobedience, to demand a free, fair, credible and legitimate election, of which the ballot paper is a key component. Refusal by ZEC for political parties to inspect the ballot paper suggests a sinister motive to manipulate the election. As the election approaches, MDC Alliance has a duty, and an obligation to its supporters, the people of Zimbabwe and the international community to ensure that the credibility of this election is not adulterated, and reflects the will of the people. Either it is a free, fair and credible election, or it is no election at all!
*Grace Kwinjeh is a journalist, politician and a women’s rights advocate based in Belgium. Grace is a founder member of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was in 2013 honoured with an award by the late Morgan Tsvangirai, for coining the party name. Grace is currently the MDC Alliance Representative to the EU. You can follow her on Twitter: @gracekwinjeh