Church teams question Zimbabwe election

Christian Century, March 27, 2002

Leaders of the Commonwealth, a 54-nation group composed mostly of former British colonies, have suspended Zimbabwe as a member following the disputed presidential election in March of Robert Mugabe. The election was marked by violence, leading church-related observers to say the incidents prevented them from declaring the elections free and fair.

Prime Minister John Howard of Australia, standing with the presidents of South Africa and Nigeria at a London news conference March 19, announced the diplomatic move against the African country already beset with economic decline, hunger and threat of labor unrest. Following the Commonwealth action, the Mugabe government charged opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai with treason in an alleged plot to assassinate Mugabe. Tsvangirai, who had lobbied for Zimbabwe's suspension from the Commonwealth, was released on bail after being fingerprinted.

Mugabe, 78, gained 54 percent of the vote, or 1,685,212 votes against 1,258,401 for Tsvangirai, his strongest opponent, in an election characterized by political violence and what many believe to be a general breakdown in the rule of law.

An international team of church-related observers voiced concern about episodes of political violence before and during the election and the imposition of hastily drafted laws curtailing the freedom of assembly and of the press. "Many incidents of harassment, rape, malicious damage to property and general breakdown in the rule of law were reported to us," the team from the World Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of Churches said in a statement.

"Documentation from human rights organizations as well as our own observations indicate that the clear majority of cases should be blamed on the ruling party. These observations preclude us from confirming the elections to be universal, transparent, fair and free," Arnold Temple, a spokesperson for the ecumenical team, said at a media briefing in Harare on March 13. A team of Norwegian observers also said the elections were tarnished by violence and intimidation, which it largely blamed on Mugabe's supporters.

Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, condemned the election process. "There is no way Mugabe could win without interference," the bishop said. "The amount of grumbling shows the people are not happy with the government, and there is no way they could have voted him into office." --ENI