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minefield that has generated acrimonious relations between the two major political parties in
Zimbabwe, ZANU-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Pre-election violence,
accusations and counter-accusations of electoral fraud and litigations have characterised the
elections in Zimbabwe since 2000. Such a political climate calls for an electoral process capable of
healing the wounds resultant of the political tension obtaining in the country since the dawning of
the new millennium.
There is need for an electoral process that can create joyous losers, those that lose in humility and
rational enough to realise the election is not all about winning but creating a Zimbabwe that we
want. It is our submission that, given the mood of bitterness that has engulfed our political climate,
there is need for an electoral system that is capable of healing the political polarisation that we find
in our society today.
What Zimbabwe needs now is not an electoral system that creates bitter losers. We need a
process that enables all parties in an election to work towards the political and economic turnaround of the country. This can only be achieved if all players in the political juggernaut, majority
party, minority parties, men, women, blacks and whites could be allowed to participate in
governance issues. We experimented with Proportional Representation (PR) just after the
liberation struggle and the system worked wonders as we managed to effectively implement a
reconciliation process that became the envy of the world.
PR would not only help bring together the feuding parties, but it will do away with the contentious
issue of delimitating constituencies which has always been a borne of contention between the
ruling party on one side and opposition political parties on the other. Right now, the registration of
voters is not going on well and preparations for an election in March 2008 seem lethargic hence
the need for an electoral process that does not demand a lot of work prior to an election. Since PR
would take the country as one constituency, it is our submission, ladies and gentlemen, that the
electoral process would thus allow even Zimbabweans resident outside the country to take part in
the election. We have more than three million potential voters outside the country’s borders and it
is pertinent that these be allowed to take part in shaping the political destiny of their country. Thus
an electoral system that recognises their existence and caters for them would be most welcome.