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With 20 days before Zimbabweans vote in an election that is turning out to be a historic ballot, it is only befitting that Zimbabweans themselves judge their own electoral processes.A survey by the United States-based non governmental organisation, Freedom House, shows that the majority of Zimbabweans interviewed during the study are optimistic that the 31 July harmonised presidential, parliamentary and council elections will be free and fair.
All other observations that will be done by election observer groups to the elections will hopefully endorse what Zimbabweans themselves have said.
Of course the actual polling, counting and announcement of the results are still to be done. But the preparations, the political environment leading to the polls and the campaigns have a significant bearing on the freeness and fairness of the elections.
According to the findings of the Freedom House survey titled Change and “New” Politics in Zimbabwe, there was widespread optimism in the country that the elections will be free and fair.
“A total of 35 percent respondents in the survey compared with 16 percent in 2010 now believe that the next round of elections will be free and fair,” said the report.
President of the Freedom House Mr David J Kraner said the report was encouraged by Zimbabweans’ obvious enthusiasm about the forthcoming elections.
“These findings should serve as bellwether for what citizens are expecting of their future political leaders and how political parties can define their policies to adequately address these expectations,” said Mr Kraner.
The sentiments being expressed by Zimbabweans in the freeness and fairness of the poll obviously derive from the confidence they have in their own processes.
Everything involving the preparations for the elections is being done according to the book and law.
The campaigns have been on-going and shifted into top gear at the weekend when the two major contestants in the polls, Zanu-PF and MDC-T launched their manifestos.
All other parties the Professor Welshman Ncube-led MDC formation, Dr Dumiso Dabengwa’s Zapu and Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn, which is led by Dr Simba Makoni, have been visible on the campaign trail in all corners of the country.
MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai has been busy trying to woo voters and in the past two days was campaigning freely in the Zanu-PF stronghold of Mashonaland Central addressing rallies in Bindura, Rushinga and Dande.
The Freedom House commissioned survey – conducted by South African political analyst Ms Susan Booysen and the Mass Public Opinion Institute in Harare – revealed that respondents were encouraged by the considerable economic improvements recorded under the inclusive government.
However, the interviewees were critical of politicians’ ability to create employment, ensure service delivery and addressing persistent food shortages.
Those that were willing to express their choice of support between Zanu-PF and MDC-T showed that the revolutionary party had made sizeable gains while its rival made losses.
Recently a leading American think tank, the Council on Foreign Relations, also predicted a Zanu-PF victory in the harmonised elections.
It said the possibility of a Zanu-PF loss was unlikely.
In the Freedom House survey interviews were done in all the country’s 10 provinces and respondents expressed their views in their language of choice. It is these surveys and a lot of other developments on the political scene that have shaken the MDC-T, its regional and international sympathisers.
They can smell defeat. The battle is now to ensure the MDC-T and its backers are not allowed to soil any of our electoral processes leading to the polling day on 31 July to create basis for doubt on the credibility of the elections.
We believe antics by MDC-T youth assembly leader Mr Solomon Madzore who made reckless statements and provoked the security forces at his party’s manifesto launch at the weekend are part of that grand plan.
Mr Madzore, who has since been rebuked for his conduct, castigated war veterans saying nobody was born a liberation fighter. He also said he was ready to shed blood if his party did not win the elections.
Online Reporter