Zimbabwe has been capturing international headlines this week after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew only days before the July 27th run-off election. In an open letter delivered to the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission on Monday, Tsvangirai stated that “What has been going on … after the elections held on the 29th March 2008 is a clear testimony that the elections scheduled for the 27th June 2008 cannot be held efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law.” He cited numerous acts of intimidation, violence and vote-rigging undertaken by incumbent President Robert Mugabe’s forces in the past month.

Pressure is now mounting on Mugabe to cancel the election. Tsvangirai has called for the African Union to lead a peaceful transition in Zimbabwe with support from the UN and the Southern African Development Community. At an emergency meeting in Swaziland today, SADC called for the election to be postponed because of violence and yesterday, UN Security Council unanimously adopted a statement condemning the violence and saying that free and fair elections would be impossible to hold on 27 June. While the non-binding statement was significantly watered down from a draft version circulated by Western countries on the council, it represents the first time Zimbabwe has been criticized at the UN by South Africa, Russia and China.

Editorials in both The New York Times and the The Washington Postare demanding more decisive action by Zimbabwe’s African neighbors, particularly South Africa, as well as the UN Security Council.

Edith Jibunoh, ONE policy staffer stationed in Abuja Nigeria, wrote to share more about the background of the elections. You can read it all after the jump.

Stay tuned here for more updates and a closer look at how the crisis is impacting regular Zimbabweans.

-Nora Coghlan

Zimbabwe: Election Background from Edith Jibunoh

The initial Zimbabwean elections took place almost three months ago on March 29th. The main contenders in the election were incumbent President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe with the Zanu-PF party since 1980; main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, representing the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC); and independent candidate Simba Makoni, the former Finance Minister and until recently, a senior member of the Zanu-PF party. In the lead-up to the elections, reports filtered in of Zanu-PF’s anti-opposition tactics to ensure victory in the polls, which included outright violence, intimidation and vote-rigging.
Immediately following the elections, the MDC claimed an early lead based on results posted outside each voting centre. These results were not endorsed by the electoral commission and the government withheld official results for over a month, claiming a verification exercise had to be completed. While results were pending, Tsvangirai travelled outside of Zimbabwe, both to urge neighbors to pressure Mugabe to release the results and to avoid danger after receiving several death threats. The official results released on May 1st showed Tsvangirai had 47.9 percent of the vote, beating President Robert Mugabe with 43.2 percent, but falling short of the majority needed to avoid a run-off ballot. Although the MDC disputed the results, arguing that they were rigged and that Tsvangirai had won the outright majority needed to avoid a run-off, Tsvangirai indicated that he would participate in a run-off election if UN-led international observers monitored the process (the first round of elections were monitored by representatives from Zimbabwe’s neighboring countries). A run-off date was set for Friday, June 27, 2008, following an extension to 90 days of the constitutionally-mandated 21 day deadline after the elections for a run off.

The announcement of the election dates marked the beginning of a new war on Tsvangirai and the opposition by Mugabe and the Zanu PF. Dozens of activists have been killed, hundreds injured and thousands forced from their homes. Militia organized by President Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu PF are responsible for most of the violence, with army and police officers either participating or turning a blind eye to attacks on opposition supporters. In a rally on June 16th, Mugabe announced that he would not cede power if the June 27th votes did not result in his victory. As the run-off elections approached, Mugabe’s government officials arrested Tsvangirai several times on false charges; his campaign officials were also victims of harassment and the General Secretary of the MDC party was remanded in custody until after the elections on treason charges.

African leaders made statements in protest against Mugabe’s tactics and called on him to end the political violence and promote a free and fair second round election. It was during this time that Botswana became the first SADC member to publicly condemn the crackdown against leaders of the opposition MDC. The governments of Tanzania, Angola, Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, Senegal, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Zambia also expressed concern and criticized the government. Notably South African President, did not make any strong statements against Mugabe, urging calm and pushing for diplomatic negotiations instead. In contrast, ANC leader Jacob Zuma, former Vice President of South Africa and Mbeki’s rival, publicly spoke against the political violence. On Monday, June 23rd, the UN Security Council also condemned the political violence in Zimbabwe.

On the 22nd of June, Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the presidential race describing the election campaign as a “violent, illegitimate sham of an election process.” He has been in the Dutch Embassy in Harare where he has been given refuge and insists he will only leave if his security is guaranteed. He has appealed for the African Union and the United Nations to act to prevent “genocide” in the country.

Despite international pressure, Mugabe still insists that the elections will proceed on Friday June 27th.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 2:35 pm and is filed under Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe, Zimbabwe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.