02 April 2008
Zimbabwe Delays Results of Presidential Elections
United States urges rival parties not to resort to violence
Washington -- Although the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has released approximately half of the results of the country’s March 29 legislative election, its continued delay in reporting the outcome of the presidential contest has raised concerns among diplomats and outside observers.
State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said April 1 the United States wants to see the tally of votes in the presidential contest among incumbent President Robert Mugabe, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai and independent candidate Simba Makoni “put forward as quickly as possible.”
Michelle Gavin, an adjunct scholar on Africa at the Washington-based research institution the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), said tensions are rising in the country because many Zimbabweans are questioning why delays in reporting the election results are necessary, “particularly given that some results had been posted immediately outside polling places” after the vote.
Speaking to reporters in a conference call March 31, Gavin said the opposition MDC has claimed victory, while Mugabe’s government maintains that only the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) can announce the results.
“Of course, the ZEC is not seen as independent. The president has appointed all of the members,” Gavin said. She later added that because of this, she suspects that if the commission announces that Mugabe has not won, it would indicate that the president himself accepts that fact. But, so far, “there hasn't been a very good explanation for what exactly this process is that's taking so very long.”
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), which provided the only international election monitors the Mugabe government would permit, described the voting process itself as “peaceful and credible.” Gavin said that despite the pre-election irregularities, the vote “went reasonably well,” but she pointed out that SADC did not describe the elections as “free and fair."
OBSERVERS DISCUSS LIKELIHOOD OF ELECTION-RELATED VIOLENCE
Asked about the possibility of post-election violence, such as happened in Kenya in January, Gavin said Zimbabwe is in a very different political situation from that of its East African neighbor. “It doesn't have the same kind of simmering, intracommunal tensions that have long existed, occasionally bubbling up into violence,” she said.
But she said it is very important to pay attention to cautionary signs such as statements warning of violence, the activities of government forces and whether political party militias decide to mobilize.
The United States called for both sides to avoid violence amidst the tense atmosphere in Zimbabwe. “We wouldn't want anyone, whether those supporting the government or those supporting the opposition, to engage in violence. That serves no one's purposes,” Casey said.
U.S. officials had expressed concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe before the elections took place, citing reports of widespread irregularities. (See “‘Extensive’ Irregularities Reported Ahead of Zimbabwe Elections.”)
Casey said the continued delay in reporting the results adds to their concern, especially since nongovernmental organizations and other groups following the election have released sample and parallel counts of the vote.
So far, the legislative election results from the official electoral commission show a “rough parity” between Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party and the opposition MDC, Casey said. Along with the need for the commission to quickly release the election results, he added, it is also important that the will of the Zimbabwean people is honored “by any government officials who might, as a result of those elections, find themselves soon to be out of office.”
