Assessment of the presidential campaign and election by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network

HARARE, Zimbabwe - A look at why the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, the only group of independent domestic election monitors in the country, says this week's presidential race cannot be declared free and fair.

_ Widespread political violence, including torture and murder, perpetrated mostly by ruling party militants against opposition supporters.

_ Voting restricted to home districts, effectively disenfranchising thousands who fled their homes in the last two years because of political violence.

_ State controlled media gave disproportionate and biased coverage to President Robert Mugabe's campaign.

_ Government imposed restrictions on which international observers could attend and limited the number of independent local election monitors.

_ Tens of thousands prevented from voting in and around Harare, even after voting was extended for a third day.

_ Independent election monitors and opposition polling agents harassed and prevented from doing their jobs at many polling stations.

_ The government had apparently tried to inflate the number of voters in rural areas where support was perceived to be higher than in urban areas for Mugabe.

_ The number of polling stations in urban areas was reduced in an apparent bid to keep the number of opposition voters low.

_ Doubts remain over the impartiality of the Electoral Supervisory Commission whose workers were drawn from the civil service and included policemen and soldiers, considered to be Mugabe loyalists.

Groups Call Zimbabwe Vote Flawed [Excerpt] "We are deeply concerned for the safety of those arrested in the light of the well-established pattern of `disappearances,' cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by Zimbabwean security forces," the group said in a statement.

"The election well has been poisoned to such an extent that there is unlikely to be any other result," than a Mugabe victory, said Brian Raftopolous, head of a collection of church and civic groups known as the Crisis in Zimbabwe Committee.

Committee members said they were discussing whether or not to organize a nationwide general strike to channel voter anger into a peaceful protest. "We are concerned about a spontaneous eruption of anger, particularly in urban areas," Raftopolous said.

The opposition party complained Tuesday that its observers were locked out of ballot counting centers in the capital, Harare, and the country's second largest city, Bulawayo. The opposition also said ruling party militants were trying to intimidate opposition observers at two other counting centers.

Militants from Mugabe's party were seen outside at least one Harare counting station. First results were expected Wednesday.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, a coalition of non-governmental organizations, produced a laundry list of problems related to the election, including flawed voter rolls, intimidation and attacks on voters by police and ruling party militants and the deployment of voting stations in a way that clearly favored Mugabe.

"There is no way these elections can be described as substantially free and fair," Reginald Matchaba-Hove, chairman of the network, said. "Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans have been deliberately and systematically disenfranchised."

The Norwegian Observer Mission found flaws in every step of the electoral process, said Kare Vollan, head of the 25-member mission. "The presidential elections failed to meet key, broadly accepted criteria for elections," Vollan said. [End Excerpt]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.