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Zimbabwe: Runoff Vote Not Credible Amid Violence And Torture
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Human Rights Watch (Washington, DC)
PRESS RELEASE
2 May 2008
Posted to the web 4 May 2008
Johannesburg
Presidential runoff elections in Zimbabwe cannot be credible unless conditions are met for free and fair elections, Human Rights Watch said today.
More than a month after general elections were held on March 29, 2008, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on May 2 released results of the presidential elections.
According to ZEC, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat incumbent President Robert Mugabe by 47.9 percent to 43 percent of the vote. Under Zimbabwe's electoral laws, if a winning candidate fails to get 50.1 percent of the vote, then a runoff must take place between the two candidates with the most votes.
Since the elections, the ruling ZANU-PF party, the army and so-called war veterans have conducted a brutal state-sponsored campaign of violence, torture and intimidation against MDC activists and supporters. Electoral issues that plagued Zimbabwe's general elections on March 29, 2008 such as access to the media, and fairness and impartiality of the ZEC have not been rectified.
"The ruling party's bloody crackdown on the opposition makes a free and fair runoff vote a tragic joke," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The violence must stop and an impartial process be put in place before any new vote is held."
The long delay in announcing the results of the presidential elections and the government's politically motivated arrests of more than 100 presiding election officers around the country raises serious questions about the official tally.
"Unless Zimbabwe reforms its system to ensure that the vote is free and fair, with an impartial electoral commission to oversee the count, any election will lack all credibility," said Gagnon.
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Human Rights Watch called on the African Union to strongly condemn the electoral irregularities and ongoing violence leading up to the announcement of the presidential election results. Human Rights Watch urged African leaders to make clear to the Zimbabwean government that a second round of elections can only be credible if conditions for free and fair elections are met and carried out under the supervision of the international community.
We have gone through all anti-Zimbabwe propaganda in 10 years and now, we have arrived to the most feared political maneuver; THE POLITICS OF KILLINGS. Tendencies exposed in the poor third world shows that Zimbabweans will not be spared, people will die in droves. We ask God Almighty, Allah Peace Be Upon Him, Buda, Musikavanhu the Creator to intervene in this precious hour of need. We are going to be wiped, we are to die, and this will prove a point that as said before that the Zimbabwean situation has been recipe for chaos. I pray that political leaders rise... [Read Full Text]
It is unfortunate that Zanu PF still believes in violence, torture, harassment and intimidation against peceived opponents as a means to retain power. The people of Zimbabwe have been in bondage in the last decade. The pending run-off presidential election will bring a greater hostile campaign from Zanu PF as evidenced by current developments unfolding since 29 March 2008. Zanu PF has vowed to crush the opposition by ALL MEANS, and by this they mean bloodshed. MDC will not be given room to campaign freely, especially in rural areas. The rural folk will be threatened and cowed to vote for... [Read Full Text]
One can certainly understand why MDC and their foreign handlers don't want to have a run off. When you add ZANU-PF-Mugabe's 43.2% to ZANU-PF-Makoni's 8.3% you get 51.5% which adds up to the neo-colonialist losing another round to sovereignty-minded Africans. It also adds to this post being taken don't almost immediately by those who want to squash truth!
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