THE stage has been set for the harmonised 2023 elections in Zimbabwe, with the electorate voting to elect the president, members of parliament, senators and councillors today.
This will be the ninth national election in the southern African nation, once dubbed Africa’s bread-basket.
The polls, which are expected to be hotly contested, will see 80-year-old Emmerson Mnangagwa square off against 45-year-old Nelson Chamisa.
The vote, taking place against a backdrop of discontent at Zimbabwe’s economic crisis, is being closely watched as a barometer of popularity for the ZANU-PF party, in power since independence 43 years ago, and which has been accused of human rights violations.
Almost two-thirds of Zimbabweans are under 25, according to UN figures.
But despite their country’s mineral riches and agricultural wealth, many of them struggle to find stable jobs. The economy is mired in hyperinflation and what the World Bank describes as “unsustainable” debt levels.
Inflation reached 175.8% in June, and in July slowed to 101%, according to official figures, although some economists estimate these figures to be much higher.
Basic foodstuffs are unaffordable for some and there are shortages of medicines in public hospitals - a problem widely blamed on misspending and graft by the authorities.
The elections have piqued interest across the southern Africa region.
Zambian president and chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, Hakainde Hichilema reminded the region that the fundamental tenet is the consolidation of democracy, defined by regular, credible, free, fair, and transparent electoral processes.
“The citizens of the Republic of Zimbabwe are participating in a general election to choose their political leadership on 23 August 2023. In the spirit of our communal values as SADC, we wish the people of Zimbabwe a peaceful and orderly electoral process. On behalf of the SADC family, I call upon all citizens of Zimbabwe to exercise their constitutional right and participate in this crucial phase in their system of governance and to enhance our common goal for regional economic, political and social development. I encourage everyone to stay calm before the announcement of the election outcome. I wish the Zimbabwean people peaceful elections,” Hichilema said.
Local pundits have been following the build-up to elections that climaxes today, with keen interest.
Political commentator Ndumba Kamwanyah hopes that the elections would be free and fair, and whoever loses the elections would accept the results.
“There have been a couple of complaints from opposition parties who have raised issues with government tactics of violence, preventing them from campaigning, and kidnappings of opposition party members. Those conditions are not good grounds for free and fair elections,” Kamwanyah said.
He was, however, confident that the elections will be competitive between the ruling Zanu PF and the main opposition CCC, while the smaller parties and candidates will “battle for crumbs”.
The smaller parties might also split the vote.
Kamwanyah hopes that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has learned lessons from the last election to deliver a credible election after its reputation was soiled in 2018 following accusations of vote rigging.
The veteran political analyst said the Zimbabwean election can be a good educational reference, depending on who emerges victorious.
“If the opposition wins, the message for southern Africa will be that people are turning against liberation movements because they failed to deliver. If the elections are free and fair in other African countries that are embroiled in military coups, the message would be: it is possible to have peaceful democratic elections,” the analyst said.
He added that as Africans, “we need to have a strong, independent, and neutral electoral bodies that can give confidence to the electorate, as compared to electoral bodies that are seen leaning one way or another”.
“Political parties will have doubts if these bodies are not fair. We need to have bodies that are answerable to the nation, not to the government in power or any political party. It must be a state institution that runs the affairs of the state without favour,” he said.
Another Namibian political analyst, Natjirikasorua Tjirera said today’s elections will follow a trend that “we have seen in Africa when it comes to liberation movements”.
“I expect president Mnangagwa to win the elections, not necessarily because he does something good, but because his party has dominated the political landscape in Zimbabwe for over 40 years. The biggest challenge is also rigging dating back to the time of the late Morgan Tsvangirai, who was robbed of victory in 2013,” Tjirera said.
Tjirera said ZEC has never delivered a free or fair election, hence, it would be naïve to expect them to do so in this election.
He has absolutely no faith in the ZEC’s ability to deliver credible elections because its survival is based on its ability to keep the ruling Zanu PF in power.
On a roll
The election comes against the background of concerns raised by the opposition parties regarding the voter roll.
They say the voters’ roll will disenfranchise about 1.8 million people.
The country’s electoral body, the ZEC, has been accused of tilting the playing field in favour of the ruling Zanu PF.
In the 2018 elections, Chamisa accused ZEC of “stealing his victory”.
Harare-based journalist Reason Razao said the Coalition for Citizens Change (CCC) and other opposition parties also dismissed the new boundaries that were created by ZEC after the electoral governing body embarked on the delimitation exercise.
“We have told ZEC that they will not steal an election twice. What you did in 2018 cannot be repeated. I am a peace-loving man. I love peace, and I am going to maintain peace. Loving peace is not a weakness.
“We want to see the voters’ roll you are going to use, and that voter roll must be authenticated so that we are not going to be surprised on the day. We want the ballot papers for the president and for the MPs to be given to us as samples so that we can validate them,” said Chamisa.
The opposition party leader called on ZEC to involve all players in this election during different processes, including the printing of ballot papers.
Two-horse race
Incumbent Mnangagwa of Zanu PF held his final rally on Saturday at Tongogara Business Centre, in Shurugwi, where supporters were allegedly bused in from as far as Tsholotsho, in what reports coming from Zimbabwe described as the ruling party flexing its financial muscle.
Mnangagwa declared that victory is certain, urging voters not to “sell their heritage given to them by the ancestors.”
His main rival, Chamisa, closed out the campaigning period on Monday by holding his final rally at the Harare Gardens, where an estimated 10 000 supporters converged, assuring him of their votes.
He told his supporters that “Zimbabwe, our time has come. This is the time.”
This will be the second time Chamisa faces Zanu PF under Mnangagwa, with their first bout in 2018 having been settled by the Constitutional Court in Zimbabwe.
-Additional reporting by AFP
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