Watakai Farm. Youths were recruited for a door to door campaign meant to force people to vote for
Zanu PF.
On the day of the election, incidences of voters being herded to polling stations by Zanu PF activists
such as traditional leaders, war veterans and youths were reported throughout the country. Teachers
were forced to vote as assisted voters. In areas such as Mutare South, Mazowe, and other areas,
Zanu PF leaders and traditional leaders had books “Zanu PF supervisor’s election data book” where
voters were entered after voting. According to Zimbabwe Electoral Commission figures the number
of assisted voters nationally amounted to 206 901 regardless of the fact that Zimbabwe boasts of a
96% literacy rate. This high number of assisted voters compromised the integrity and secrecy of the
ballot.
June
The operating environment for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) remained tense as the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission moved slowly in processing the application by NGOs to do voter education.
This delay led to a number of organisations’ activists being arrested by the police for violating
electoral laws. Political parties in the inclusive government continued with the primary elections
resulting in a number of people’s civic and political rights being systematically violated. In a number
of cases, Soldiers and police in civilian clothes were deployed in the communities to organize election
campaigns. For example, police officers at Rujeko, Masvingo central were conducting the voting
process. Zanu PF chose to openly defy the Minister of Education David Coltart’s guidance that
political parties should not use schools as venues for their political activities, as schools across the
country had been used as primary election centres.
In terms of violations, Manicaland and Midlands lead the violations pack with 133 and 115
violations respectively. Bulawayo registered the least number of violations followed by Harare, which
recorded 10 violations. Men were the majority perpetrators recording a whopping cumulative 606
while women were not a busy lot as perpetrators with 80. When disaggregated, Zanu PF men were
the most active perpetrators with 588 actors followed by the MDC-T, which had a total of 98 male
perpetrators. MDC had 3 perpetrators. In terms of victims, MDC-T recorded the highest number of
victims of 355 followed by Zanu PF with 189.
During the period under review, two deaths were reported in Manicaland. The first death happened
in Nyanga South where a 25 year old MDC-T activist from Muwi-Dzenbe village died after he was
assaulted by his brother who accused him of attending MDC-T meetings while refusing to join Zanu
PF, his choice of party. The second took place in Chiadzwa diamond fields in Mutare west on 22 June
where a twenty five year old man was shot and killed by diamond security guards. Another of his
colleagues reportedly died of gunshot wounds at Mutambara Mission hospital.
Zanu PF held its primary elections on June 25 and 26. A process that had been billed to be complete
in a single day had to be extended as a result of delays. There were shortages of ballot papers in
some instances and accusations of imposition of candidates and cheating. As a result there were
demonstrations at the party’s headquarters in Harare. Elections in some areas like Chimanimani
had to be adjourned due to the disputes. Zanu PF candidates in Chimanimani West complained to
the Zanu PF election directorate that one of the contestants, a saving army detail (Muresherwa) had
deployed soldiers who were intimidating people to vote for ‘a soldier’ or face the consequences. The
Zanu PF Chegutu East candidates, were party political commissar Webster Shamu and Mashonaland
West provincial chairperson John Mafa. John Mafa had wanted to address people in the area but
they were told not to attend by Shamu’s supporters. People did not attend for fear of victimisation.
The intra-party violence experienced within the MDC-T resulted in the party fielding two candidates in
the Dangamvura-Chikanga constituency. By nomination day the MDC-T had not resolved the dispute
resulting in Housing Minister Giles Mutsekwa and human rights lawyer Arnold Tsunga filing their
papers on an MDC-T ticket. In Hurungwe West the MDC-T primary elections had to be postponed
twice as people were disgruntled by polling agents who arrived late and wanted people to vote at
night. People accused aspiring candidate Wilson Makanyaire of bringing people from the other
wards to vote in ward 24 and ward 11 on different occasions. Supporters refused to vote until there
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