Trip Report - Zimbabwe Presidential Elections. (Feb/Mar 2002)

Major Thomas W. Cook, USA
FAO-ICT, Zimbabwe

The purpose of this trip was twofold. First, to gain a better appreciation for the process and procedures that were implemented by the U.S. Embassy in conducting observer duties for the 2002 Zimbabwe Presidential Elections between incumbent President Robert Mugabe from the ZANU-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai from the MDC. Second, to gain a better understanding of the issues and concerns that often surround an electoral process that takes place in Africa.

My experience as an election observer can easily be separated into three phases. The following are those phases and the observations and facts that I learned during each phase.

Preparation phase. During this phase the leadership in the embassy determined that the most effective way to conduct observer duties was to assign two- man teams to each of the nine provinces within Zimbabwe. The necessary resources were identified and collected. This included everything from checklists and questionnaires for election assessment to adequate communication equipment for each team.

Personnel were identified and assigned to a team and a province. Classes were then conducted on the rules and regulations that an observer must follow throughout the elections. This was accomplished by issuing the Official Code of Conduct for International and Local Observers.

Another very important part of the training was to discuss what is/was the objective of being an election observer. In simple terms, our purpose was to report whether or not the general public's physical and psychological environment during all phases of the process were conducive to a free and fair election. A free and fair election is defined as:

1. Freedom from fear in connection with the election and the campaign.

2. Freedom of speech (for candidates, the media, voters and others).

3. Freedom of assembly.

4. Freedom of Movement.

5. No misuse of government facilities or resources for campaign purposes.

6. Opportunity to actually participate in the election.

7. Access to polling stations for everyone.

8. Impartial allotment of public funds to each party.

9. Impartial protection of polling stations.

10. Equal and universal suffrage.

Pre-election phase. During this phase, I was assigned as a partner with the DAO-Harare OPSCO, CW2 Tom Castle. As team 3, we were assigned to conduct observer duties in the Midlands Province for the period of 18 February through 28 February 02. We determined that to be productive, we would need to meet with public officials, political supporters, law enforcement agencies and NGO/human rights groups. To do this, we introduced ourselves to the different agencies within the province and requested some of their time to discuss the pre-election process. The following are some of our observations, facts and lessons learned during this phase.

The definition of a free and fair election is somewhat different in Zimbabwe than it is in the United States. For Americans, it entails the process by which a candidate and his party present a campaign platform that consists of their policies and promises. This is done with the hope that as a voter you cast your vote for them. At times, these presentations are aggressive and even a little annoying, but there is never a time that you feel threatened if you decide to support a certain party. In contrast to this, during the last two weeks of January, there were over 20 different cases of human rights violations within the Midlands Province that were all politically motivated. This included everything from houses or shops being burned to people being snatched from their home and beaten. One evening, we had a discussion in our hotel room with three individuals who were very active in the campaigning for their party (MDC). One had his house burned down in front of him and another had literally been run out of his town and not allowed to publicly campaign. In a different discussion with ZIMRIGHT, a human rights group based in Kwekwe, we were told of one incident in which a kid was abducted because his father who is a car mechanic, worked on the car of an MDC official.

Zimbabwe also uses political terminology that we are not familiar with in the United States. One example is the phrase "No-Go Areas". This is an area or region within a province that is controlled by ZANU-PF, the ruling party. If you belong to the MDC and you voice that opinion, you will most likely be physically intimidated or your belongings destroyed. In one of these no-go areas, we met behind closed doors with a member of the minority party who literally had fear in his eyes and voice as he told us that the situation in his town had become very troublesome for his party. The irony of this is that when we met with the local Member of Parliament (MP) from the ruling party, she and her associates told us that though there were minor problems, the pre-election process was running smoothly and without any major discrepancies. This huge contrast in opinion between each party existed everywhere we traveled.

Throughout our travels we also heard of situations where fear and intimidation was not only being accomplished physically but psychologically as well. This included feasting upon the lack of education that exists in some rural or bush areas. For example, one individual told me how some people in a rural area were shown a "machine" that would be able to identify what party they voted for on the election ballot. The machine that they were shown was a cell phone that had their name typed into it. This scenario is not to say that those with a higher education were exempt from this psychological fear and intimidation. In fact, it was quite the opposite for many teachers within certain communities. This was demonstrated at a ZANU-PF political rally where the names of the local teachers were read and if they did not answer, it was assumed that they were not supporters of that party and retribution probably then followed.

During our initial observer class, we learned that approximately 95% of the radio and TV air time that was devoted to the elections belonged to the ruling party. This inequality in freedom of speech was also prevalent at the individual level. In one incident, I watched a young man who at the end of an MDC rally remove his MDC party tee shirt, wrap it tightly up into a pair of coveralls and then put the coveralls into a plastic bag. In contrast to this, I would see various people wear their ZANU-PF tee shirt without any hesitation.

An inability to meet and assemble as a political party was hampered by bureaucratic technicalities and blatant acts of assault. This was personally witnessed at the above-mentioned MDC rally. Apparently 3 to 5 vehicles that were coming to the rally were stoned by ZANU-PF youth. No one was injured, but the damage done included windshields that were shattered and vehicles with either holes or large dents in them. The minority party was in constant battle to ensure that their rallies were approved and could take place. On a couple occasions, the South African observer team had to question the local Zimbabwe Republican Police (ZRP) commissioner as to why an official MDC rally was cancelled only to have the ZRP suddenly acknowledge and approve the rally.

One other issue that because it was not resolved during the pre-election phase, had a profound impact during the elections was the accreditation of domestic observers. Within the Midlands Province alone, it was estimated that 2,193 domestic observers needed to be accredited so that all the polling stations in the province could receive adequate coverage. If this were not accomplished, the door would be left wide open for possibility of tampering with the voting process. As of election time, only 500 had been accredited.

Throughout the whole pre-election phase, the type of reception that we received as observers was equally split between that of acceptance and a feeling of encouragement to that of reservation, suspicion and a feeling that the international observers are a hindrance to Zimbabwe's elections. This was demonstrated by the request from the Kwekwe Criminal Investigation Organization (CIO) that Chief Castle and myself come down to the police station for questioning as to the purpose of our visit to the province.

Election phase. During this phase, I was assigned to work with a different employee from the embassy, Aziz Ahmed. We were assigned the Harare Province, which includes all of Harare and Chitungwiza, a town northeast of Harare. Because there were over 150 polling stations within our province, we split into two teams. We then teamed up with two other individuals from the embassy community, but they were not officially accredited. Thus, Aziz and myself were only allowed to come within a 100- meter perimeter of the polling station. The following are some observations and lessons learned during 9 to 11 March 2002.

Voters all across Harare started lining up at the polling stations well before 0600hrs on 9 March. The polling stations were opened up at 0700hrs. Every voter was required to go through a series of steps in order to cast their vote. The first requirement that an individual had to do once they were actually in the polling station was to place their hands in a metal box that had a "black light" in it. If he/she had this special solution (this will be explained) on their hands, it would show up under this light and that person was identified as one who had already voted. These individuals were not allowed to continue on through the process. In fact, some were detained with the possibility of facing legal charges. If their hands were clear, the person would then show their identification. Polling station workers would then confirm that they were a registered voter by verifying that their name was in the registered voters' books. If so, the voter would then dip both hands in the solution that was just previously mentioned. He/she was given the ballots and they would go into the voting booth and cast their vote. They then would put the ballots into the wooden ballot boxes.

To conduct and monitor this process, each polling station had a president who was overall responsible for its operation. There were also polling agents. These individuals represented his/her political party if there was a problem within the polling station. The concept was quite clear and simple, but various problems arose during the actual execution that questioned the ability to call the elections free and fair.

The first problem started at 0700hrs on 9 March and was never really solved. This was the issue of people not being able to get in and vote. I lost count of the number of people who stood in line starting at 0600hrs in the morning and by 1800hrs at night had still not been able to vote. One reason for this long delay was that the government just prior to beginning the elections decided that they needed to close down some of the polling stations within Harare. Their reason was that they needed to move them out to the rural areas so that those people would not have to travel great distances to a polling station. Many feel that the real reason the government closed these polling stations in the Harare Province is because the urban areas are MDC strongholds.

The second day has even more frustrating than the first. This was because not only were the people who planned to vote on Sunday in line, so were the many others who did not get to vote the first day. The reason for this backlog of voters was not only due to the closure of some polling stations, but also the manner in which they operated within the polling stations. For example, they took an extremely long time in verifying a voter's eligibility. They had the registration books divided up alphabetically into 4 or 5 sections, but they did not have the voters' line up in the same fashion. So, the person checking surnames starting with "A" through "D" still had to take a look at an I.D. card of someone whose name started with "Z".

There was also a lot of confusion as to which polling station voters in Harare were assigned to use. For example, a person could go to any polling station and cast their presidential vote, but the mayoral elections required a person to vote at a specific station. Thus, there were many that after standing in line for literally 12 hours, were told that they were at the wrong polling station to cast their mayoral vote. They then had the option to go ahead and just cast their presidential vote or go to the appropriate station to cast both the presidential and mayoral vote. If they chose the latter, they took the chance of having to stand in line for another 12 hours.

Others experienced being told that they were not on the registration role. These individuals were told that their names would be turned in to headquarters for verification of residency on the police main frame. They could then come back the next day and see if the computer had them registered. Others were told that their names were appearing on the removal list for people who lost their Zimbabwean citizenship. Obviously all this caused many people to give up on the voting process.

At one polling station, a domestic observer discovered that there were six presidential ballot books (each containing 100 ballots) missing or misplaced. One has to wonder if this was a common occurrence throughout the polling stations. But because there were only a few hundred domestic observers that received accreditation, we will never know the extent of this issue.

The most interesting situation occurred Sunday evening. We were instructed by the embassy command post to go to one polling station and verify whether or not it had closed early. When we arrived, there was a group of 30 to 40 people at the entrance gate to the polling station, but the door was locked. It was obvious that the people were very aggravated that the doors were closed and locked. As the crowd takes notice of our arrival, they quickly encircle us and begin asking us what we were going to do about it. As we attempted to determine what actually was going on, we found ourselves at the front of the gate. We identified our positions and ourselves but the policeman on the other side doesn't acknowledge us. The crowd became more aggressive and as a group started pushing on the gate. I thought it was going to collapse. We were finally allowed in and after some time and some discussion with the polling station officials and an actual Member of Parliament (MP), the gates were re-opened. The problem is that many people had departed without being given the chance to vote.

Due to the inability to provide everyone an opportunity to cast their vote, Zimbabwean officials extended the voting period for one additional day. This was an attempt to demonstrate that Zimbabwe's election process gave everyone an opportunity to vote. The problem is that inefficiency and what appeared to be a blatant act of slothfulness on the part of the polling station presidents marred the execution phase. This was clearly apparent as we arrived at the polling station only to find out that they had not yet opened the polling station doors. When asked why the delay, the officials said they had not received authorization. This was odd because as we were driving in, we heard on the radio that the decision had officially been made that previous evening. After much confusion and delay, the doors were finally opened at 1115hrs. They remained open until 1800hrs, but having opened four hours late had already discouraged numerous people from staying around to vote.

CONCLUSION. I greatly appreciate LTC Smaugh giving me the opportunity to serve as an election observer for the Zimbabwe 2002 elections. It helped me gain a better appreciation for the important issues and circumstances that so often surround elections that take place in Africa. In the case of Zimbabwe, there were many honest and hard working men and women who attempted to make the election process free and fair, but there were others who in key positions were able to override that goal and cause the event to be skewed.

On 13 March 2002, Robert Mugabe was declared the president of Zimbabwe. Certain individuals and organizations as well as some other African countries such as South Africa made the statement that they considered it a free and fair election. One has to truly wonder whether that was an accurate statement. Especially in the case of one South Africa observer team who had their vehicle stoned by ZANU-PF youth. During this election year, there have been Zimbabweans physically and/or emotionally hurt. Many more were left with a feeling of discouragement and despair at the end of the elections. President Mugabe and his cabinet have a monumental task ahead of them in trying to improve Zimbabwe's economic and political situation. He must discover a way in which he can not only re-unite the supporters of the MDC with those of ZANU-PF, but he must also re-build the bridges that his party has burned with the international community during his quest for presidency.

2002, Foreign Area Officer Association
Springfield, Virginia
Maintained by LTC Steve Gotowicki.
http://www.faoa.org