Refrain from any form of violence: Sadc

In accordance with the established practice to observe the National Elections in SADC Member States, His Excellency Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco, President of the Republic of Angola and the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation constituted the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) to observe the elections following an invitation extended by the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe. This practice is in conformity with the SADC Treaty; the SADC Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation and the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2015). In this regard, President Joao Lourenco mandated Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax, the Executive Secretary of SADC to facilitate the deployment of the SEOM to the Republic of Zimbabwe. Furthermore, the Chairperson appointed me in my capacity as the Minister of External Relations of the Republic of Angola to lead the SEOM to the Republic of Zimbabwe. Your Excellences; Ladies and Gentlemen As you may know, SADC has now employed the Long Term Election Observation Methodology as stipulated in the Revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. To this end, we deployed the SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC) in March, 2018, ‘to assess whether the political and security environment was conducive to the holding of democratic elections; as well as gauge the state of preparedness of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

It is significant to note and appreciate, therefore, that both the SEAC and the Long Term Observation Mission observed that there had been a remarkable transformation in the exercise and protection of civil and political rights in Zimbabwe compared to the 2008 presidential run off. Further to this, the SEOM notes that Zimbabwe has welcomed international election observers, some of whom were previously barred or not invited to observe elections in Zimbabwe,

This is a commendable move towards electoral transparency and confidence building in the electoral process. Your Excellences; Ladies and Gentlemen; The Mission notes that the 30 July 2018 Harmonised Elections in Zimbabwe were regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Electoral Act.

According to Section 158 (1 ) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013 General Elections should take place not more than thirty days before the expiry of the fiveyear period in terms of Section 143 of the Constitution.

By proclamation call the President sets the date for a General Election after consultation with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. Pursuant to Section144 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, on 30th May 2018, issued a proclamation setting the 30 July 2018 as the date for Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Government Elections, referred to as the Harmonised Elections. Your Excellencies; Ladies and Gentlemen; As part of its observation process, the SEOM engaged a wide range of stakeholders constituting state and non-state actors beginning with the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe; ZEC, Political Parties, Council of Chiefs, media, representatives of regional and international organisations, academia, faithbased organisations; and civil society as well as persons with disabilities, women and youth.

The SEOM will continue with long term observation of the post-election phase — the findings of which will be incorporated into the final report of the Mission.

Our assessment takes note of the major positive aspects related to the administration of the legal and constitutional framework and its transformative effect on the political and security context. We also take note of those areas that require improvement in order to enhance the electoral system and democracy in general.

1. FINDINGS OF THE SADC ELECTORAL OBSERVATION MISSION TO

THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE The Mission wishes to share the following Preliminary Findings of the 30th July, 2018 Harmonised Elections:

1.1 The Legal and Constitutional Framework

The Constitution promotes key principles for conducting democratic elections which include:

(a) The right for all political parties to function and campaign freely within the law;

(b) The will of the people to be demonstrated through elections that are conducted in a free, fair, transparent and efficient manner; and

(c) State-owned media to be impartial and afford fair opportunity for the presentation of divergent views and opinions.

The SEOM further notes that the Constitution introduced new institutional mechanisms that promote democracy and good governance, which had to be factored into existing or new legislation in order for the laws of the country to be aligned with the Constitution. The Mission was informed by the ZEC that the process of aligning the Electoral Act with the Constitution is ongoing.

The Mission further notes that on 28th May 2018, the Government published the Electoral Amendment Act, 2018, whose key positive aspect include a new Electoral Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Candidates and other Stakeholders. The Code of Conduct is an essential framework enabling a climate of tolerance in which election activity may take place take place without fear, coercion, intimidation or reprisals.

The Mission also notes that public funding for political parties is based on the Political Parties (Finance) Act where funding is available based 4 achieving at least 5 percent of the parliamentary vote. The Act also prohibited political parties and candidates from accepting funding from individuals and entities who are foreigners and not resident in Zimbabwe.

1.2 Mandate and Appointment of ZEC Commissioners

Elections in Zimbabwe are conducted and managed by the ZEC which is one of the five Chapter 12 institutions of the Constitution whose purpose is to promote democracy in Zimbabwe. The other four are the Human Rigts Commission, the Gender Commission, the Media Commission, and the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission, which have complementary role to play in the electoral context, particularly in conflict prevention, management and resolution.

The SEOM notes that the involvement of the public and political parties the appointment of ZEC Commissioners is a commendable practice as potentially lends credibility to the electoral management body. The ZEC made up of a chairperson appointed by the President after consultation with the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and the Parliaments Committee on Standing Rules and Orders, which also includes ruling pa and opposition parties; and eight other members appointed by the President from a list of not less than twelve (12) nominees submitted by the

Committee. The appointment of the Commissioners is based on stakeholder consultations, public nomination processes, and put interviews in Parliament.

The ZEC’s mandate includes:

(i) Conducting and managing elections and referenda in Zimbabwe in transparent, impartial and independent manner;

(ii) Establishing a voter registration system that results ih a credible Voter’s Roll; (iii) Creating and consolidating structures that facilitate good relations between and among stakeholders in elections; and

(iv) Designing and developing a voter education programme that informs and educates the electorate in Zimbabwe.

In line with the ZEC mandate, the SEOM notes that the ZEC has made a number of positive improvements to the management of the elections, which include the following:

(i) Introduction of a Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) system on 14th September, 2017 through Statutory instrument 109 of 2017, following the disagreements between contesting political parties in 2013 over transparency and management of the voters roll. This is consistent with the provisions of the Revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections;

(ii) ZEC is now fully in charge of the registration of voters and management of the voters’ roll;

(iii) The introduction of Polling station specific registration which confines each voter to cast ballots at only one polling station of their choice within the precincts of their homes, to allay fears of multiple voting;

(iv) The establishment of the Multi-Party Liaison Committee as a platform for political party dialogue and engagement on issues related to the election process;

(v) The positive engagement with civil society organisations, particularly in respect of civic and voter education.

Further to this, and in the context of electoral conflict prevention, management and resolution, the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) has been operational since February 2018, and has evidently contributed to through enhancement of the climate of peace and political tolerance by facilitating, commitments to the Peace Pledge signed by 21 political leaders ahead of polls day. In addition, the Human Rights Commission now has the mandate to observe the elections in Zimbabwe, and deployed observers in this respect.

Despite these highly significant initiatives by the ZEC and other Chapter 12 institutions, the SEOM also took note of the varied concerns raised by stakeholders in respect of ZEC and its management of some aspects of the electoral process. The following were the main issues raised by stakeholders:

(i) delays in the release of the voters’ roll to political stakeholders;

(ii) alleged lack of transparency in the procurement and printing of the ballot papers;

(iii) the layout of the ballot paper, which was alleged to have favoured on candidate over others;

(iv) alleged lack of impartiality by the ZEC and bias towards one political party over others; and

(v) lack of a pro-active communication strategy with respect to the concerns of political parties.

The Mission finds that some of the issues raised were due to residual historical distrust towards state institutions, particularly the Electoral Management Body’s for example, the Registrar General whose Office in the past was responsible for the registration of voters.

Other challenges were seemingly due to ZEC’s apparent inability to employ a comprehensive communication strategy that could have engendered greater transparency while enhancing confidence amongst stakeholders.

1.3 Registration and Preparation of the Voters’ Roll

The Mission finds that there has been a general consensus amongst the stakeholders consulted that the introduction of the BVR has had the potential effect of rendering improved confidence to the electoral process.

Further to this, the Mission also notes that independent civil society organisations were permitted to conduct an audit of the voters roll to ascertain its veracity.

Although the introduction of the BVR was a significant development in the electoral process of Zimbabwe, some stakeholders expressed concerns over the resultant voter’s roll.

It was the view of the opposition and some civil society groups that the Voters’ Roll was shared late and in a format that was not analysable and therefore, not consistent with the provisions of the Constitution.

The aggrieved stakeholders also expressed concern that the time allocated for inspection and verification of the voters’ roll was inadequate for both registered voters and political parties. Furthermore, the electronic copies of the voters’ roll were only made available after the nomination process. 1.4 Concerns about Postal Voting The SEOM notes that there has been considerable confusion amongst stakeholders regarding the procedures for postal voting. This may have arisen from the apparent conflation of special voting, which has since been repealed, with postal voting. The SEOM notes that the Electoral Act does not require observation or supervision of the postal voting process. 1.5 Diaspora Voting Despite the concerns raised by stakeholders regarding the lack of facilities for Diaspora voting, the Mission notes that the Constitution. of Zimbabwe makes no such provision; and the Electoral Act limits voting to within the voter’s constituency, with the limited exception of postal voting. Further, the Mission also takes note of the judgment of the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe delivered on 30 May 2018, which confirms that there is no constitutional provision for diaspora voting.

1.6 Role of the Police in National Elections

Thus far, the Mission has found the conduct of the Police to have been of a high professional standard which has contributed to the peaceful dispensation experienced during this election. With a few exceptions for which justifications were proffered, the Police permitted political parties to exercise their freedom of assembly and association during the campaign period. The Mission also commends the Police for developing a booklet or the code of conduct for their officers during elections which was based on the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.

1.7 Role of Traditional Chiefs in National Elections

Traditional leaders at whose apex are the Chiefs play critical role in the rural economy of Zimbabwe. They are responsible for the implementation of customary law and the allocation of rural land. The Mission note: concerns by stakeholders that some traditional leaders were using their influence to intimidate or coerce the rural population into supporting the ruling party.

Nonetheless, the Mission observes that the Constitution of Zimbabwe prohibits traditional leaders from furthering the interests of any political party or acting in a partisan manner.

Furthermore, the Mission notes the High Court of Zimbabwe judgment, which ordered the leadership of the Traditional Leaders not to be partisan. The SEOM also notes that the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission has advised stakeholders such a: traditional leaders to desist from voter intimidation. ◆ Read full SADC statement on

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