These are messages coming in from Kubatana subscribers from around Zimbabwe:

Here in Masvingo town Sisk B/Centre as at 0900, there was no queue; people were voting peacefully; everything seemed to be in place.

I was at St Catherine near Newlands shops. The turnout was good. Environment good. Just pray for this environment on presidential.

I have noted with concern the freedom in Mbare. The process of voting is going on peacefully but yesterday people were forced/summoned to go to different ZANU PF bases to be given last minute instruction on the next day of voting for referendum. What I observed to be of intimidation matter was that people were told they should come to the bases after voting to register their names and if you do not do that they said they would link you to MDC and to be forcefully evicted from there houses and replace with pro ZANU PF supporters which is unlawful. To me this I don’t think its fair in what you call a democratic country.

Again on Thursday summons were distributed from what they called City of Harare they were send to houses in Jourburk lines in Mbare for overdue accounts, from reliable sources I am told summons to ZANU PF members were held by the party authorities in the area but if they suspect you are an MDC supporter or you are non partisan the summons were delivered. What I see is the party is trying to intimidate people ahead of the polls. On the same summons issue I was issued with one the copy I have it my dues are $1 400 and the one next door has a bill of $4 000 but since he is a pro ZANU no action – is this fair. You can investigate all issues I have highlighted above they are true. The party authorities in the area have photocopies of the voters roll. On the issue of City of Harare and overdue accounts I understand there is the issue of pay plan why cant they give residents chance to clear and again since the Council is dominated by MDC councilors why do they seem not to have a heart and approve summons which will make their party to be at a disadvantage with the residents.

I am in Mt Darwin. The situation is calm. Things are proceeding well. We pray for a future, which we hope, is being shaped today.

Here in Hwange there is low turnout of people.

Now at the poling station in Nyanga. Many people are voting. Talked to some, they are very happy for the new constitution. Hope to see positive results.

I m in Glen Norah B I voted by 7:30am @ Glen Norah High 2 School. Area very calm but a lot of people do not know what they are voting for especially women. The vote campaign didn’t reach people. No violence in Glen Norah or toyi toyi. I will be updating u on everything if confirm this email.

Very few people are voting. Voter apathy in Karoi town. People don’t know what to vote for Yes or No. The Draft was fast tracked to people

Am at Rimbi polling station; people are voting in peace but turn up is still low and is expected to increase with time.

The Sadza command centre polling station opened at exactly 0700 hrs. The voters started to trickle in to exercise their right. The environment here is calm & peaceful. I am expecting that by midday many people will have cast their votes. Some shops are closed as their owners are going to vote. The command centre is well manned by police officers.

Here in Chipinge, referendum is going well and I hope it will go the same through the day.

Nothing much is happening, only that people are not certain about the future ahead of either of the results, in Gaza, Chipinge.

I’m so unhappy our bosses did not excuse us from work to go and vote. Remember this is a national event and every vote counts. Such issues should be reviewed at national television and proper measures should be taken against such bosses. Am so unhappy.

Mash Central. Mazowe North. Mvurwi people are going 2 vote in numbers although no long queues.

Am in Chiredzi, Hippo Valley Mill. Low turnout corresponding to the number of population around the polling station, the environment is safe. Hope as time passes turnout will increase.

People are voting but as for the Seventh-day Adventist Church members, they are saying we are not going to vote, for we already have the law of God in the Bible.

I am in Mutare and have already voted. It’s so quiet in the city and people are voting peacefully. We thank God for that.

People have come in fairly large numbers especially the elderly I’m worried about the youth they are very reserved and view the voting system as an adult issue. Serious voter education is needed in our rural Plumtree.

In Cowdray Park, Bulawayo, the best peaceful elections so far!

In Zengeza there is a overwhelming response.

Aidah from Zaka; lots of people casting their votes.

ILLEGAL POLICE ACTION MUST BE CHALLENGED

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) is astounded by the most recent actions of the Zimbabwe Republic Police on Tuesday 19 February 2013, where through a press briefing, they launched an unwarranted assault on freedom of expression and access to information by purporting to ban citizens from possessing and distributing radios and similar communication devices.

In terms of Section 20 (i) of the Constitution every Zimbabwean is entitled to receive and impart information without any hindrance and the use of common technology such as radio, television or mobile phone is protected by law.

The utterances by the police are patently illegal. This so-called ban has no basis in law. The lengths to which State institutions and actors are now going to deny fundamental rights and freedoms and act outside the law is alarming but is typical of paranoid State authorities who are contemptuous of any diversity of opinion and information.

ZLHR is deeply committed to freedom of expression and access to information. It is also our firm and unshakeable belief that the police are the least expected to act outside the law considering that they are mandated in terms of Section 18 (1) to act lawfully and uphold the Constitution. We refuse to be passive spectators of such blatant violations and impunity, and as such ZLHR is preparing to challenge this purported ban through the courts imminently.

Here’s a statement from Heal Zimbabwe Trust:

Summary of  minimum conditions for free and fair elections from the view of survivors of political violence:

-Regional and International peacekeepers should come six months before elections and leave 6 months after elections in order to protect the electorate from political violence.
-Security sector reforms should be implemented before  any call for elections.
-All members of the army should reside in army barracks and should desist from moving around villages, victimising civilians.
-There should be media reforms before any call for elections where hate speech is banned and all political parties given equal share to campaign in all the media spaces in the country.
-Members of the police should be impartial in conducting their duties and should stop the arbitrary arrests of political activists.
-The Member in Charge of the Buhera police post, Dispol Muguti who is a war veteran should be removed immediately from the police station as he is partisan and harassing all non ZANU PF supporters.
-Wives of police officers who were given police force numbers because they support ZANU PF at Buhera Police station without undergoing training should not be allowed to operate as police officers in the area.
-All the political bases that are being revived by ZANU PF youth should be banned forthwith.
-All political parties should be allowed to campaign freely without harassment from the police or other rowdy members of certain political parties.
-International and regional observers should come from all around the world not to be cherry picked.
-Traditional leaders should not be partisan in conducting their duties.
-The regional and international observers should take action after noting any  human rights violations  rather than just producing reports with no action to protect the electorate.
-The Government food distribution exercise  should not be done in a partisan basis.
-Members of the uniformed forces should not be cohesed into voting while putting on their uniforms but should be allowed to vote freely from home in their civilians clothes.
-Those who cannot write, the elderly and the physically challenged should choose whom they want to assist them in voting not to be forced to get assistance from the police or election agents.
-Members of the uniformed forces who want to join politics should first resign then join politics later rather than taking advantage of their posts to force people to vote for them.
-All perpetrators of political violence should be brought to book before any call for elections.
-The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) should employ new people as its secretariat not the current partisan one which deliberately delayed the 2008 election results.
-Mr Tobaiwa Mudede, the registrar general should be fired as he is responsible for tempering with the voting records of 2008 in favour of  ZANU PF.
-The mobile voter registration exercise should be accessible to all those who want to register to vote.
-People should be allowed to vote at any polling station of their choice rather than having designated polling stations where they are subjected to victimisation and harassment.
-All outstanding issues to the GPA should be fulfilled first before any call for elections in Zimbabwe.
-Election results should be released 24hours after the voting process.
-ZEC should use upto date technology in order to ensure election results are released on time.
-If ever there are any reports of political violence before the election date, the elections should be stopped forthwith.
-All those vying for the post of Presidency in the upcoming elections should be given one public platform to explain to the public what they intend to do for the country if elected as President like what is happening in other countries for example Kenya.
-All those who lost their sources of livelihoods, livestock, property should be reparated by the Government and the perpetrators before any call for elections.
-Civil servants should be allowed to support political parties of their choices rather than having their salaries deducted for supporting a certain political party.

 

Just in from a subscriber:

The draft by COPAC is a meticulous fulfillment of the old times saying, ”that people are not inherently good, people are ready to show their vicious nature when it works to their advantage”. The coming in of a new supreme law is a welcome gesture. A constitution is widely regarded as a legacy of the past, present and future generation. Ancient and contemporary democracies to a significant extent embrace the legacy of the supremacy of civilian rule, accountability, separation of powers, transparency, liberty, and equality. The COPAC draft depicts a sharp departure from the commonly agreed key lynchpins of democracy. It is silent on a number of critical and pertinent issues such as past atrocities and government misdemeanour that seek redress. Zimbabwe is an infant democracy thus it would have been more prudent for the charter to summon for the establishment of vibrant state institutions not prone to manipulation and susceptible to political instability. The discriminatory clauses with a case in point of the death penalty spell a bleak future and a mammoth task to the establishment of consistent judicial precedence. Reading through chapter 5 which purports to create an Executive authority sent shivers to the spine. History has it on record that supreme Executive authority has led to the weakening of state institutions through appointments. It also has a danger of perpetuating the denial syndrome by political leadership thus aggravating political, economic and social distress. Unilateral Executive power enhances dictatorial tendencies. It is tragic that the COPAC draft has given a green light to one man rule thus nullifying the belief in check and balances. The draft is silent on the retirement age of Executive authority. Very little attention has been given to the voting and electoral system which in the modern day Zimbabwe is the source of hope for political transition. This further derails hopes for free, fair and credible elections. How on earth can a state be run and advised by an unaccountable Attorney General? It is a question that continues to boggle thinking minds. To crown it all the statement ”… becomes effective and for ten years thereafter …” clearly indicate lack of seriousness in Zimbabwe’ political and legal development. Though the draft tried to address numerous issues, it leaves very very little to admire in terms of ensuring stable political, democratic development and upliftment of the legacy of civil rule supremacy.Thus the adoption of the COPAC draft has numerous ramifications nationally, regionally, sub-regionally and as far as continentally. What a tragic testimony of political expedience in the guise of law making.

With all eyes and ears on the Constitutional Referendum this statement published today by ZESN is worth a read:

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) notes that the referendum date has been penciled for 16 March 2013, a date which is literally in four weeks’ time. This raises serious concerns about citizens having a meaningful opportunity to learn about the draft constitution and to make an informed choice. The date also raises questions about the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) having sufficient time to organize a credible referendum consistent with laws of Zimbabwe as well as Southern African Development Community (SADC) and international principles and guidelines governing the conduct of democratic elections. The political decision to hold the referendum undermines the ability of the ZEC to enhance its capacity to conduct the election or strengthen its credibility with stakeholders and this might be a missed opportunity.

Further, ZESN is concerned that the referendum date was set before the draft was published in the government Gazette. In addition, citizens are yet to examine and study the draft as copies have not yet been availed to the public and plans for civic education by COPAC have not yet been implemented. ZESN also realizes that the proposed date will have the potential to disturb the already shortened school calendar given that most of the polling stations are normally located in schools and most teachers also serve as polling officials.

In addition ZESN notes that the announcement of the referendum date comes just 24 hours after the departure of the Chairperson of the ZEC Justice Simpson Mutambanengwe. In the past few years ZEC under the leadership of Justice Mutambanengwe has made strides in engaging stakeholders in a number of activities such as consultative meetings to strengthen synergies and relations. It is however sad to note that the time and energy that the institute and the government have invested in the Chairperson has been wasted particularly given that the resignation comes in an election year.

We urge that a new ZEC Chairperson be identified and approved expeditiously. According to the Electoral Amendment Act, 2012, Section 100B (1)(a) a chairperson is appointed by the President in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission and the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders. Further, subsection (2) stipulates that “The chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must be a judge or former judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, or a person qualified for appointment as such a judge.” ZESN hopes that this process results in the speedy appointment of a credible chair to steer the Commission.

The Network remains dedicated to the promotion of democratic elections in Zimbabwe. As such despite serious reservations ZESN will continue to watch the unfolding of the political developments in the country and provide independent non-partisan information on the electoral processes to the public, civil society, policy makers, political parties and electoral authorities. ZESN reiterates that Zimbabwe cannot afford to have anything but credible and legitimate elections as it transits from the Government of National Unity (GNU).

Some reflections from a Kubatana subscriber:

Fellow comrades, it is shameful that we watched helplessly as the politicians manipulated the  Zimbabwe constitutional process. But what could one have done taking into consideration the lessons learned in 2008 where a well known power hungry, octogenarian delayed and denied election results, and used violence to cling to power after being overwhelmingly defeated by people power. Is it that politicians can never be satisfied, that they will never say enough? Or is it that we are so blind to see how much ruin they can do to our lives if we just watch in silence.This month Mugabe will turn 89. My father was forced to retire at 65 by the very government ruled by an 89 year old man, just think of it comrade! The time to act is now. Lets register to vote in our numbers . It is our right to vote. It is one of our powerful voices to change things for the better. Dear comrade the future is in our hands.