By Itai Mushekwe
In less than two weeks the people of the once prosperous but now downtrodden Republic of Zimbabwe go to the polls. This presidential election is arguably the most important in the country’s recent history: For the first time ever the status quo under veteran leader President Robert Mugabe is facing a serious challenge. It is a shock for Mugabe and his inner circle that one of their own, Simba Makoni, a former finance minister in Mugabe's cabinet and a member of his ruling Zanu PF politburo decided to run against his boss jointly with long time opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Together the two seem to have garnered considerable support from the disenchanted populace as witnessed by the enormous turnout at their rallies.
The election might well spell the end of the present regime. The economy is in a coma with inflation running at over 100,000%, the highest in the world outside a war zone according to the World Bank; unemployment is at over 80%; there are acute food and fuel shortages; foreign currency reserves have dried up; and the health and sanitation systems have all but collapsed.
Zimbabwe’s Neutered Media
However the most worrying thing is the state of the media. The state-controlled media are nothing but objective, reporting is unfair, and many programmes are apolitical. Most coverage of politics is propaganda with the aim to soil the reputation of Mugabe's challengers. The independent media, a small and increasingly beleaguered force, has been stifled by restrictive media legislation. As a consequence, what Zimbabweans mostly get from the private media, is half-baked and heavily self-censored news. The sad result is that to this day most voters are yet to make a well-informed decision about which candidate to vote for. The state-controlled media has fogged them, while the small independent press, arguably for business reasons, has been less than aggressive in its reporting – and this in spite of the fact that many critics of the electoral process claim that the ground for rigging the election has already been laid by state agents.
Internet Police
In any democracy and society it is imperative to have a robust media which will scrutinise the government without succumbing to what I would call the “politics of special interests” or “commercial news”. It is only on this basis that citizens can use their civil rights and liberties to make informed decisions, necessary for self-government, i.e. to accept or reject political leaders. Unfortunately this is not the case in Zimbabwe where the local media has all but been turned into a eunuch. The state media, more than before, has become a poodle and a mouthpiece of Mugabe's government, while the private press, in as much as it is fighting to report the true story of what is happening in Zimbabwe, has been and continues to be intimidated into involuntary silence on sensitive news items. Local journalists do not enjoy any autonomy and are subjected to harassment and imprisonment should they probe too deeply into sensitive issues. In most cases recourse to the courts is no option for journalists and as a consequence their reporting tends to be tame. The brave few have to smuggle their reports out of the country using pseudonyms on the internet. Even this, though, exposes them to danger ever since last year President Robert Mugabe signed into law the Interception of Communications Act which allows his government to police the internet, too.
Western Media Booted Out
The international media is being heavily screened as are election observers. Zimbabwe’s government has made it very clear that it will not tolerate Western media and will only invite what it perceives as its allies. All journalists who seek accreditation to cover the elections will have to meet the government's stringent criteria. The ministry of information has issued a warning to foreign journalists trying to sneak into the country, reiterating that they will be arrested. Renowned news outlets such as the BBC are banned in Zimbabwe, while other channels like CNN, who have applied to cover this crucial poll, are unlikely to be granted permission unless they tow Harare's line.
All election observers will be from so-called friendly nations. The European Union, booted out of the country back in 2002, has not been invited. Russia was the only European nation to receive an invitation along with Zimbabwe's allies such as Iran and China. There are concerns that, due to their ties with Mugabe's government, the invited observers have already endorsed the elections as free and fair before setting foot in Zimbabwe.
Hand-Picked Election Monitors
Another flaw is that the election monitors, though they be hand-picked, have been late in coming to Zimbabwe. A brief stay will not enable them to grasp, should they care, what is taking place on the ground – and especially in the rural areas far removed from their five star hotels. Here allegations are rife that rigging has already begun. There have been disclosures that the country's electoral authority, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), has allocated more polling stations to the heartlands of Zanu PF, than to the urban centres that are traditional strongholds of the opposition.
Zimbabwe’s government has been accused by the opposition of gerrymandering, i.e. changing the boundaries of constituencies in its favour. Also, and even more shocking in this make or break election, are statements by high ranking state security chiefs that they will not accept a Mugabe defeat. The country's military commander, prisons chief, and police boss have all thrown their weight behind Mugabe.
Gifts Make Friends
These developments have led to speculation that the current government has already purchased votes through patronage. For instance, soldiers and other civil servants, who for a long time have been complaining of meagre salaries, recently woke up to see hefty hikes in their bank accounts. Another indication of vote buying, critics contend, is the doling out of food, farm equipment, and machinery by the government to its loyalists only days before the elections.
The election in Zimbabwe will be very controversial and potentially violent in its aftermath – although, this time round, there have been fewer reports of political violence and opposition leaders were able to campaign peacefully. Whoever wins Zimbabwe's presidential elections has his work cut out for them. The task is to restore this beautiful country to the “little Switzerland” it used to be before being engulfed in the current political and economic quagmire.