legacy of Liberation Movements,2 as well as been the most violent of the Southern
African countries when it comes to elections. 3
2. Historical context to elections in Zimbabwe
Never mind the shades of democracy purported in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe conforms
to what has been termed “dominant power politics”.4 Elections are used as a
‘procedural minimum’ strategy to legitimate regimes. During the liberation and
height of the nationalist movement “one man one vote” was the mobilizing battle
cry. Jonathan Moyo makes similar remarks on the importance of elections as a
right. “The right to vote has a historical significance in Zimbabwe which dates
back to the struggle against colonialism for independence. How that right is being
exercised in post- colonial Zimbabwe is a matter which should not be taken for
granted.”5
The system of elections in Zimbabwe are as old as the state itself. What is only
different is the ways the right to participate in elections was extended to the
generality of the people and gender. It started as a white privileged male vocation,
which was then extended to white women, then to few propertied blacks and
finally to the black majority-no wonder the “one man one vote” battle cry. The
negotiated political settlement in 1979 ushered the generality of Zimbabwean
population into an electoral winter season. Every election was considered as
critical to the changing of their political fortunes. Thus in Zimbabwe elections, no
matter how small, have been cut throat.
A review of the history explains why Zimbabwe is not a different a country from
Rhodesia before it. The seizure of power by a white minority in 1965 in Rhodesia
was to have long term effects on the current political system and the question of
power. It would shape the next leader in the independent Zimbabwe, Mr. Robert
Mugabe, to be a “quintessential purveyor of power politics”, capable of using his
presence at the apex of state power to deploy either the “bullet as well as ballot” in
the shaping the way the country was subsequently governed. Thus, Mugabe then
took all the power upon himself and solely had absolute discretion on political
2
Bratton. M., & Masunungure, E (2011), The Anatomy of Political Predation: Leaders, Elites and Coalitions in
Zimbabwe, 1980-2010. January 2011. Research Paper 09. Development Leadership Program.
3
RAU (2016), Are former liberation movements inherently violent as governments? February 2016. Harare:
Research & Advocacy Unit
4
Carothers, T (2002), The End of the Transition Paradigm, Journal of Democracy, 13:1, 5-21.
5
Moyo, J (1992), Voting for democracy: a study of electoral politics in Zimbabwe, University of Zimbabwe
Publications
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