ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION TO ZIMBABWE

In his budget speech in Parliament on Wednesday 11 June 2008 President Thabo Mbeki explained that with regard to Zimbabwe, our SADC mandate is still on track. In this regard, our facilitation helped to ensure, among others, that thfe March 29 elections were generally adjudged to have been credible.

"At the moment, we are doing whatever we can to ensure that we do not experience major problems in the Presidential second-round elections set for 27 June. We are at one with SADC and most of the international community that the incidents of violence and reported disruption of electoral activities of some of the parties are a cause for serious concern and should be addressed with all urgency. SADC has also resolved to strengthen its observer mission in that country.

"We do hope that friends of the people of Zimbabwe, who seek nothing more than freedom for the people of that country to elect a government of their choice and overcome the current socio-economic crisis, will work together in pursuit of these objectives."

It is with this framework that the SADC Observer Mission will attempt to carry out its tasks.

• The presidential run-off on 27 June 2008 will be held concurrently with the three by-elections (Pelandaba-Mpopoma, Gwanda South and Redcliff constituencies) where some candidates died before 29 March harmonised elections.
• Following the announcement of the run-off, the ZEC issued an invitation to the SADC Secretariat on 19 May to send an observer mission to monitor the run-off. SADC pronounced that in order to be more effective and efficient it would be imperative to ensure a larger coverage in all Provinces. In order to achieve that there was a need to strengthen and enlarge the Observer Mission to more than 300 Observers as compared to 150 in the previous circle.
• The SEOM was launched on 7 June 2008 in Harare.

Media briefing regarding the deployment of the SADC Observer Mission

During a media briefing at 11h00 on 12 June 2008 on the deployment of the Advance Team of Observers, Mr T Mothae, Director: SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation informed as follows:

• At present approximately 120 SADC observers, primarily from Botswana, South Africa, Angola and Namibia are in Harare and ready for deployment to all 10 provinces.
• Leaders for all teams have been appointed, equally divided between all countries on the ground.
• Emphasis was placed on the importance of adhering to all rules and regulations as outlined in the Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections in the Region.
• It is expected that more than 400 SADC observers will be deployed by 22 June 2008. This is a considerable increase of the 150 that were deployed during the March elections, which is a reflection of the importance SADC attaches to the effective observation of the run-off elections.
• In total there will be approximately 9100 polling stations for the run-off elections. For a broader coverage SADC observers were advised to exchange information with the other observer teams on the ground, primarily Pan African Parliament and the AU.

• The South African Observer Mission will comprise of 70 observers constituted as follows, 31 government officials, 20 Members of parliament, 3 IEC representatives, 15 representatives from the following Civil Society Organisations, NEDLAC, CONTRALESA, SAWID, GPEC, SACC, ECOSOC, SANGOCO, Commission on Gender Equity and National Youth Commission.

• Deployment of Observers will be in two phases. The first group of 20 is already in Zimbabwe and the rest of the group will leave next week.
• The South African contingent to SEOM will be led by Ambassador Kingsley Mamabolo.
• The Mission will be supported by six (6) technical staff from the DFA.
• The Observer Mission will be deployed in all Ten Provinces namely, Bulawayo, Harare, Chitungwira, Manicaland, Midlands, Matebeleland, Masvingo, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central. The Observer Mission will return on 29 June 2008.  
• South Africa in its capacity as mediator as mandated by SADC, will do all in its capacity and capability to ensure that the observer mission performs optimally and that it is well resourced to do so. It is in South Africa's interest to see the Mission succeed and to see Democracy prevail in Zimbabwe and the region.
• The presence of the SADC Observer Mission will seek to contribute towards the creation of a climate that is conducive for the holding of credible Presidential run off elections in Zimbabwe on 27 June 2008.
• In this regard, the SADC Observer Team will monitor all stages of the election namely the pre-electoral process which will include inter alia campaigns, voter education, media coverage the election day, where they will observe the set up, the electoral environment, the voting, vote counting, also the post electoral situation.
• The SADC Observer Mission will intervene when necessary to deal with any allegations, and ensure that the elections are conducted within the context of the Constitution, the National Electoral law and the SADC Principles and Guidelines governing democratic elections and to ensure that the Presidential run off elections are conducted in a conducive environment, that will allow the people to exercise their vote democratically.

 UN on Zimbabwe

The UNSG Ban Ki Moon has despatched the Assistant SG for Political Affairs, Mr Menkerios to Zimbabwe. The visit is a follow up to the meeting between the SG and President Mugabe in Rome last week. After his return he will report to the UN Secretary-General who will decide what to do.

The Security Council closed discussion on 12 June 2008 was given by John Holmes, Under Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator on the Humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe....

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question: With regard to Zimbabwe, can we get some reaction to Tendai Biti's arrest and seemingly he will be charged with treason. Has President Mbeki been on the phone with President Mugabe as he did with Morgan Tsvangarai and asked for Mr Biti's release? Secondly, the cutting of food aid - the Zimbabwe government has banned NGOs from delivering food aid for the time being to possibly hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans - does the South African government consider that to be crime against humanity?

Answer: On the issue of the harassment of Mr Biti and the second time arrest of MDC President Mr Tsvangarai - these matters are all constantly being taken up through the channels and the processes that have been created by the facilitation at their level. But as a tried to indicate these are matters that the SADC Observer Mission have been mandated to deal with - not only to observe and report but to intervene and follow up any allegations and raise all these matters with the respective authorities in Zimbabwe. It is my view that the SADC Observer Mission team will be taking up all these issues through their channels. The Executive Secretary of the SADC, I believe, will also be doing this and through the facilitation, which has special processes and mechanisms, this matter should also be taken up.

The issue of food aid was referred to in a report to the UNSC yesterday by Mr Holmes. His report is indicating amongst other things that:

"before the elections Zimbabwe was already facing a deep social and economic crisis, characterised by rapid economic decline and hyper-inflation of 170 000 %, collapsing social services, food insecurity and the devastating effects of the HIV and AIDS pandemic. Two million people are dependent on humanitarian assistance, and as many as four million are considered vulnerable and in need of help."

He then goes to explain that the directives on the 4th of June instructing all private volunteer organisations and NGOs to suspect all field operations until further notice, will have a very negative impact on the capacity to ensure that the UN can deal with this emergency.

He then says that he estimates that two million people are directly affected by this decision - this includes as many as 500 000 children who are currently not receiving the healthcare and HIV and Aids support, education assistance and food that they require. For example he says one major project for orphans coordinated by Unicef reaching 180 000 orphans through 35 NGOs can no longer operate. He then said that he has met Zimbabwean government officials who have indicated that they would soon clarify the directive, suggesting that it might be somewhat relaxed and that they will continue to press for full access.

Throughout the report he is raising serious concerns about the humanitarian tragedy and indeed about the negative impact of the decision to stop all NGOs, including the UN, from carrying out their humanitarian activities that they have been doing for so long.

So clearly his report is indicating that there are serious problems but we hope that their discussions with the government would enable this decision to be reassessed so that if the report, which is a UNSC report, is correct then we hope that the necessary actions will be taken.

Question: On Zimbabwe, where do we stand with the mission by South African Generals to Zimbabwe? Have they completed their mission? Have they compiled a report? Is it going to be published? Can you confirm if those Generals have gone back or not for the second time?

Answer: The South African Generals, I think, are in the process of completing their report. I have just come back from out of the country but I will check - but they have been preparing their report and I hope that the President would have been briefed and that his written report is still awaited. I do not know whether it will be made public - this is the decision of the President and the Generals he sent. As you know there were many reports that violence had increased and reports of the militarisation of the Zimbabwean society.

Question: There has been speculation about talks between the South African government and the MDC. Will there be such talks and if so when are they likely to be held?

Answer: There have been media reports that in the last few days that there have been talks between the facilitation team led by Minister Mufamadi and the Zimbabwean opposition, especially the Presidential candidate's delegation. I cannot say or reject whether these reports are true but they have been consistent in the papers and I do believe that the facilitation team at the appropriate time will see it necessary to brief the media about the progress that has been made and the nature of the talks - if they have been taking place; what have they discussed and what are the possible outcomes.

Question: The issue in Zimbabwe of government of national unity - are there such discussions at all happening between the Zanu-PF and the MDC or is it anticipated that they may take place after the election?

Answer: The issue of the government of national unity - the latest comment has come again from the former presidential candidate Makoni, which is supported by many people. I think all political parties in Zimbabwe have indicated that they are in favour of some form of government of national reconciliation. It seems from reports in the media and elsewhere that the issue, shall it be before the presidential elections or after the presidential elections. Clearly all Zimbabweans have understood that there is no solution to the crisis unless there is a Zimbabwean approach which is collective and involves everybody in the process. We will wait for the Zimbabweans to take whatever decisions they make in this respect and we will support it, whether it is before or after the elections.

Question: Is the South African government adamant that the second round of elections in Zimbabwe must take place or do you it think it might be better if some kind of deal was be struck beforehand? The contact group, the facilitation group, particularly Minister Mufamadi - when will they be meeting with the Zimbabwean parties? The issue of the UN Security Council - the United States today said they believe the matter should come before the Security Council. Do you remain adamant that because it does not pose a threat to peace it does not belong on the UNSC agenda?

Answer: It is not our wish or in our power to determine whether elections should take place or not. This is in line with the constitution and if the Zimbabweans feel, as publicly stated by the church groups and others that these elections should not take place and they should rather move to a process of reconciliation - if that is what the Zimbabweans decide, indeed Africa and the world must accept that Zimbabweans' wish.

Let me make it clear. It is not South Africa blocking the discussions in the Security Council. The Security Council mandate says you can only put issues on the agenda if it is a threat to regional and international peace and security. To date, even under the presidency of the United Kingdom and the United States they have never put in on the agenda as a threat to international peace and security - they have put it as closed session to discuss the humanitarian issue. Now that the special envoy, after discussions between the Secretary General and President Mugabe, will go to Zimbabwe, obviously he would have gone as a special envoy and he will have to report to the Secretary General. The Secretary General then has the power to put it on the agenda or not to put it on to the agenda. We have never blocked as a principle, as it has been suggested that we are blocking it to defend any one party in Zimbabwe.

Our objective has always been, as a facilitator, to play a role that will allow all Zimbabweans to find a solution. We do not block anything on the basis that we are supporting or trying to protect any particular party. This is a matter that is the mandate of the UNSC and as we are asking for the transformation of all the UN institutions as well as the Security Council, maybe this is an issue that can be taken up in the transformed Security Council on what issues can come within the framework of the UNSC.

We must understand that the UNSC is one organ of many UN institutions and many issues can be taken up at various levels and if not South Africa, then many other countries within the Security Council - I think the vast majority of the countries that are not permanent and Russia and China take the same view that you must be careful what you put on the UNSC agenda otherwise you will begin to transform the nature of the UNSC. We are just a non-permanent member. We will try to adhere to the situation where the Security Council mandate must be followed quiet religiously because we have seen on too many occasions, issues brought to the UNSC that should be handled through other structures of the UN and thereby continuously weakening the UN as a multilateral forum that can deal effectively with all the challenges we face.

Question: There have been reports on numerous radio stations that President Mugabe believes that the country could plunge into civil war and that war veterans are ready to take up arms. Can we get a reaction to that as well?

Answer: I am not keen to comment about the civil war but many analysts, the church groupings and many people in Zimbabwe are saying the situation is so bad that if there is no resolution acceptable to all then the possibility of increased violence and possibly leading to civil war is on the agenda.

We ourselves work on the basis that we cannot start working on the basis of a civil war. Our objective is to try and make ensure that we can get the Zimbabweans themselves creating the conditions for them to find a solution that will prevent any further escalation of violence and indeed any possibility of a civil war. The civil war will not be in the interest of the region. As the report of Holmes said, any further violence will have a major impact on the region, especially South Africa and so we will do everything possible, firstly to deal with all the reports of the escalating violence and to make sure that we never reach a situation of a civil war because that will be disaster, not only for Zimbabwe but all of us.

Question: Is that the view at the moment that the run-off will take place under the present conditions? Are they free and fair conditions?

Answer: The President has indicated that we must do everything possible as the facilitator, as instructed by the SADC, to make sure that we can at least get to a situation that prevailed before the last harmonised elections. Nobody challenges the fact that the last harmonised elections were one of the best since 1980. If we can get back to that situation, then I think we will be able to honestly say that the elections were free and fair and the people were able to reflect their votes democratically. But this is a matter that SADC, the AU and the Pan African Parliament will honestly give their reports on the basis of their experience.

If you studied the last SADC and AU reports, they raise many issues that are problematic but they acknowledge that those issues can only be dealt with as the Zimbabwean body political situation normalises and that in the future those matters can be taken up. Anybody who reads the SADC Observer Mission Report, which was reflected on at the SADC Extraordinary Summit held in Zambia, will know that the report was constructive, determining that the conditions were one of the best since 1980, but that certain matters had to be taken up to ensure that in the future this should be resolved so that we can even have better than the March 29 election.

So it is our task as observation to make sure that we do get to a situation where the people will feel free that they can cast their votes. It is a very difficult task with many reports indicating the escalation of violence. But we are committed as SADC to honestly proclaim what we find through our observation in the run up to the elections and during the elections. This is imperative because besides that Zimbabwe will not solve its problems.

Question: How concerned are you that the number two in the opposition is not being allowed to lawyers?

Answer: This is a matter that I said I think when the President yesterday answered in the Parliamentary debate, what he said was that

"At the moment, we are doing whatever we can to ensure that we do not experience major problems in the Presidential second-round elections set for 27 June. We are at one with SADC and most of the international community that the incidents of violence and reported disruption of electoral activities of some of the parties are a cause for serious concern and should be addressed with all urgency."

What he is actually saying is that all these issues, any issue, whether it is the arrests or the violence that impact on the possibility of a free and fair elections as to be dealt with through the facilitation; through the SADC Observer Mission; through the AU Observer Mission; the PAP and 38 other organisations and countries that were invited previously to observe the elections - and I am assuming that all those have all been invited to participate again. It is a matter that we have expressed from the head facilitation team, our concern about certain developments and it is not up to the relevant structures to deal with all these matters, whether it is the arrests; or whether it is the violence, they will have to deal with it.

Extract from notes following Briefing by Deputy Minister Aziz Pahad on Current International Issues, Union Building, Pretoria, June 13 2008. Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs