“It doesn’t matter how many months you give,” Tsvangirai told reporters. “If you have not already made a decision, I am sure that even if you are given 10 months you will never arrive at any decision. One month is sufficient.”

These are words of the Honorable Prime Minister himself. Its plain and simple, time doesn’t matter. The undecided mentioned by the Prime Minister need not worry because due to time constraints decision making is a waste of resources so just grab the draft copy being distributed and prepare to join the queue to surrender your vote.

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.

There’s a COPAC advert in the Herald today encouraging a Yes vote in the upcoming Referendum. This is wholly unacceptable. COPAC helped draft a new constitution for Zimbabweans to decide on; it’s not for COPAC to tell them what to do. It’s like Zanu PF using all of its machinery (media, and other pillars of power like the armed forces) to influence the outcome of elections. COPAC is going out into the field to hand out copies of the draft constitution and to encourage debate. They shouldn’t be using their funding, their resources and infrastructure to lobby for a yes vote on behalf of Zanu PF and the MDC. COPAC is completely undermining the democratic outcome of the referendum.

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.

 

Earlier this year when Sheilla Mutsenhu from Mutare decided to strip in protest  in front of the US Ambassador cameras flashed and she made headlines. She was never arrested or charged. But this was not the same when a WOZA activist, Bertha Sibanda decided to strip in protest for the release of other arrested activists. Bertha was charged with indecent exposure. Now if Bertha is to be charged then a docket against Sheilla should be opened too. Stripping is a form of protest and if Zimbabwe will not tolerate this then let every offender be charged. In fact in Zimbabwe protesting itself, even in an overall covering your whole body, gum boots and a hat if you like, is a crime. What we are seeing are double standards: Zanu PF supporters and war veterans can protest, but not others.