Rural voters said favored in Zimbabwe election; opposition has strongest support in cities

International Herald Tribune

The Associated PressPublished: March 11, 2008

HARARE, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission has put too few polling
stations in the cities, where the opposition has strongest support, an
independent election support and monitoring group said Tuesday.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network said a list of polling stations
released by the state Electoral Commission for March 29 presidential and
other voting showed "a significant discrepancy" that favored the ruling
party in its rural strongholds.

No comment was immediately available from the Electoral Commission.

The monitoring group said Harare had 379 polling stations for about 760,000
registered voters, leaving an average number of 2,022 voting at each polling
station over 12 hours of polling - or 22 second for each vote if there was
maximum turnout.

In one city district it came down to nine seconds if all 4,600 registered
voters showed up to cast their ballots at their designated polling station
on voting day.

Even if voting hours were extended many voters were likely to be turned away
when polling stations were finally closed, the network said.
Most rural polling stations would handle only about 600 voters each, the
network said.

Noel Kututwa, head of the support network, said unless more polling stations
were set up in all urban areas many voters would not have a reasonable
opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

Kututwa said the number of registered voters per polling station in the
cities of Gweru and Mutare was also more than double those registered in
surrounding rural districts

"It would be unfortunate if the problem of too few polling stations in 2002
is repeated," Kututwa said.

Tens of thousands of voters were turned away across the country in those
presidential elections when the polls closed.

Elections in 2002 and 2005 won by President Robert Mugabe's ruling party
were marred by administrative chaos and plagued by allegations of vote
rigging, irregularities in voters' lists and charges that violence and
political intimidation influenced voting.

On March 29, Mugabe, 84, is running against a former ally, ex-finance
minister Simba Makoni, 57, and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, 55.

Makoni draws his support from ruling party rebels and disillusioned
supporters of Tsvangirai's fractured Movement for Democratic Change, mostly
in urban areas.

The vote takes place amid an economic meltdown - including a shrinking
economy, rocketing inflation, shortages of most basic goods and collapsing
public services - in the nation once known as a regional bread basket.

Since the government began ordering the seizure of white-owned farms in
2000, production of food and agricultural exports has slumped drastically.
Zimbabwe has the world's highest official rate of inflation of 100,500
percent.

Mugabe blames the crisis on economic sanctions imposed by Britain,
Zimbabwe's former colonial power, and its Western allies to protest his land
reforms and accuse him of violating of human and democratic rights.

US: 2007 worst year yet for human rights in Zimbabwe

Reuters

Tue 11 Mar 2008, 17:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - Last year was the worst ever for human
rights in Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe's government stepped up
its assault on dissenters as well as ordinary citizens, the U.S. State
Department said on Tuesday.

Over 8,000 instances of human rights abuse were recorded in Zimbabwe and at
least 1,600 unlawful arrests and detentions, the annual U.S. report on human
rights around the world said. "The year 2007 was the worst year yet for
human rights defenders in Zimbabwe," it said.

"Security forces harassed, beat and arbitrarily arrested opposition
supporters and critics within human rights NGOs (non-governmental
organizations), the media and organized labor, as well as ordinary
citizens," the document said.

Human rights groups reported more physical and psychological torture by
security agents and government supporters.

"Victims reported beatings with whips and cables, suspension and electric
shock," the State Department said.

It said the abuses increased despite efforts by regional leaders to resolve
the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe, where Mugabe, 83, has blamed a ruined
economy on sabotage by political opponents. He has been in power since
independence from Britain in 1980.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

First Observers Arrive For Zimbabwe's Election

VOA

By Peta Thornycroft
Southern Africa
11 March 2008

An advance team of fifty election observers from the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) arrived in Zimbabwe ahead of national elections
on March 29.  Peta Thornycroft reports that no observers from Western
countries have been invited to the elections because the Zimbabwe government
says it is only inviting friendly states.

The SADC observers, and those from forty six invited groups, will have to
monitor 210 voting districts or about two thousand polling stations.  For
the first time, voters there will have to cast ballots in four simultaneous
polls: for the president, for parliament, for the senate; and, for local
government.

Most of Zimbabwe's voters live in the rural areas, and access to some of the
districts is difficult as many roads have badly deteriorated during the
economic crisis over the last eight years.

All the voting districts are new, as the number of elected legislators has
been increased by 90 to 210.

There are several electoral reforms for these elections. They were agreed to
during South African mediated negotiations between the ruling ZANU-PF and
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, MDC. But a new constitution,
agreed to early in the talks, has not been implemented because President
Robert Mugabe refused to do so.

Opposition leaders say that even the reforms that were legislated are not
being properly implemented.  The MDC has filed an urgent application Monday
with the new Electoral Court to demand an electronic version of the voters'
roll, which it says it has so far been denied.

In elections since 2000, the MDC has said polls were rigged via the voters'
roll of more than five million voters.  The party has complained the
document still includes as registered voters, people who are deceased or who
emigrated many years ago.

The MDC is also demanding that the voters roll be under the control of the
Zimbabwe Election Commission, and not with the office of the Registrar
General where it has always been held before.

Only with access to the voters roll can people find out where they can vote
as each voter is assigned to one of the 2000 polling stations.  The Zimbabwe
Election Support Network says it is concerned there is not enough voter
education to let people know where they are supposed to vote.

The MDC faction loyal to founding president Morgan Tsvangirai is also
gathering evidence for a legal challenge to the state controlled media.

There are no independent daily newspapers, radio or television in Zimbabwe.

The MDC says the coverage of the election campaigns so far has been biased
in favor of the ruling ZANU-PF. That view is shared by the only media
analysts in Zimbabwe, the independent Media Monitoring Project which
produces weekly statistical reports.  Those reports have consistently
demonstrated a bias in favor of ZANU-PF in the state media.

At the last presidential election in 2002, a delegation of parliamentarians
from the SADC member states said the poll was neither free nor fair.  The
Commonwealth, of which Zimbabwe was then a member, agreed with that verdict.
Zimbabwe expelled the head of the European Union's election observer team
shortly before election day.

South African observers declared the elections legitimate and credible while
an African Union delegation found them to be fully free and fair.

Zimbabwe consistently rejects allegations that elections have been rigged,
arguing those assessments were biased and untrue.  Now the government has
decided it will only invite what it describes as friendly countries. The
only European country invited is Russia and the only delegation that could
include European representatives is that from the Community of Lusophone
Countries, a grouping of Portuguese speaking nations.

Zimbabwe clarifies nationalisation legislation

Financial Times

By Tony Hawkins in Harare

Published: March 11 2008 17:13 | Last updated: March 11 2008 17:13

Following fierce international and local criticism of its new
nationalisation legislation, Paul Mangwana, indigenisation minister,
insisted that not all foreign-owned firms would be forced to sell 51 per
cent of their shares to indigenous Zimbabweans.

Mr Mangwana said: "Not every business would be forced to have 51 per cent
indigenous ownership. The Minister will prescribe on the basis of capital
(investment) and employment levels".

Although some businessmen here have been quick to interpret his remarks as a
climbdown, the reality is that the legislation is full of discretionary
provisions.
Critics say this is deliberate as the main aim is to enable ministers to
"cherrypick" firms for takeover rather than a blanket provision that the
state could not afford to finance anyway.

One businessman who cannot be named for fear of attracting unwelcome
government attention to his business, said: "The minister has hit the nail
on the head. He, or the Cabinet, will choose which firms to take over, and
if the businesses do not comply, then they will be told to whom they must
sell their shares and, probably at what price".

Although the main media focus on the nationalisation act has been its
implications for foreign owners, it applies to domestic non-indigenous
owners as well. Although it is not phrased in overtly racial terms, because
this would contravene Zimbabwe's constitution, an indigenous person is
defined as one who was disadvantaged under the pre-independence regime. The
decision of who was disadvantaged is left to the government, highlighting
the discretionary, rather than rule-based, content of the law.

In his response, the president of Zimbabwe's Chamber of Mines, Mr Jack
Murehwa insisted that the minister's clarification had not helped. "A
different explanation outside the law cannot allay fears" he said. "The most
important thing is the form and content of the act."

Some managers of non-indigenous and foreign-owned firms are already seeking
to exploit the situation by suggesting to owners and head offices that it
might be better to "sell" shares, usually at a substantial discount, to
people they know rather than risk having a partner thrust upon them by the
government, as threatened by Mr Mangwana.

It is unclear how the issue is playing in the election campaign because
while President Mugabe is using the law to demonstrate his determination to
ensure that "Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans," Mr Simba Makoni, the president's
challenger from within his ruling Zanu-PF party is keeping quiet in public,
partly because he is anxious to portray himself as a supporter of the
indigenisation strategy.

The main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, which
strongly opposed the bill in parliament, launched its policy manifesto in
Harare on Tuesday. It favours more foreign investment, promising to build "a
strong economy, using market principles with strong redistributive
characteristics and carefully-targeted state-intervention policies to
promote economic and social justice".

Tsvangirai wary Zimbabwe govt will rig polls

SABC

March 11, 2008, 17:15

Thulasizwe Simelane, Harare
The leader of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),
Morgan Tsvangirai, says the warning by the country's police that they will
not hesitate to use force in the run up to the elections, is a clear sign
that government plans to rig the polls.

The opposition commemorates one year since its leaders, including
Tsvangirai, were severely assaulted by police in Harare during an
unauthorised rally in March last year.

The first group of Southern African Development Community (SADC) observers
has landed in that country to monitor the March 29 polls. With the
tug-of-war for power intensifying, police are also gearing themselves up for
any form of uprising.

Zimbabwe police spokesperson, Augustine Chihuri, says: "The police are
authorised to use minimum force, but in some instances, we are authorised to
use maximum force, which includes the use of firearms."

The MDC, however, maintains that violence is continuing despite amendments
to the notorious Public Order and Security Act. "Why would anyone even
contemplate using live ammunition, if the elections (would be) free and
fair? Why would they predict that that the election would cause violence?"
asks Tsvangirai.

Army Hints at Coup if Mugabe Loses Poll

The Zimbabwean

 Tuesday, 11 March 2008 11:57

ZIMBABWE is facing a potential descent into chaos, as army generals
intensify their thinly veiled threats of a coup if any opposition candidate
defeats President Robert Mugabe in the upcoming elections.

The threats signify a looming conflict between Mugabe's loyalists, within
the security forces, and supporters of opposition candidates Simba Makoni
and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who are
pulling out all the stops to win. The situation has been worsened by the
recent remarks of police, that they would crush any Kenya-style
antigovernment riots the MDC has been threatening.

Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander Gen Constantine Chiwenga, said at the
weekend he would support neither a Makoni nor Tsvangirai government after
the elections, claiming they were "sellouts" and "agents of the west".
Mugabe has also described them as such.

"We will not support any other candidate than President Mugabe, who has
sacrificed a lot for the country," Chiwenga said.

Mugabe, who in the past has deployed the army to suppress civilian
antigovernment protests, recently said there would "never, ever be a regime
change in Zimbabwe".

Asked if it was acceptable for the army to dabble in politics, in violation
of the constitution, Chiwenga said, "Are you mad? What is wrong with the
army supporting the president against the election of sellouts?" Chiwenga
and his lieutenants threatened to "deal with" journalists asking them
questions about involving the army in politics.

Last week, the head of Zimbabwe's Prisons Service, Rtd Maj-Gen Paradzai
Zimondi threatened to resign, to "go back to defend my piece of land", if
Mugabe loses power. "If you let the country go, God will not help you
anymore and, when you die, you will go to hell for failing to defend your
land against enemies," Zimondi said. His remarks were widely interpreted as
a threat of coup if an opposition candidate wins.

Army commanders say they have ordered troops to vote for Mugabe. Soldiers
were recently awarded huge salary increases ahead of the elections. Mugabe
has also been donating farming equipment and computers to voters, in what
the opposition describes as flagrant vote-buying and bribery.

On Friday, he signed into law the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment
Act, which requires foreign-owned companies to offer 51% of their shares to
black Zimbabweans.

Just before the 2002 presidential election, former army commander-general
Vitalis Zvinavashe made similar threats, sparking outrage within opposition
and civil society circles. The army did nothing, because Mugabe
controversially won the hotly disputed poll.

The MDC expressed dismay at the threats of a military takeover if Mugabe
loses.

"The MDC condemns the reckless and unmeasured utterances by the some army
commanders, that they would not salute an elected president other than
Robert Mugabe after the March 29 election," the party said.

"These utterances are being made after the realisation that Tsvangirai is a
few inches away from State House. The MDC is definitely set for a landslide
victory against a divided, confused and weakened Zanu (PF)."

The MDC said the region and the international community must express outrage
at such blatant coup threats by Mugabe's regime. "Any utterances that seek
to undermine the people's will are assaults on the fabric of democracy and
expression of free will. Reckless utterances like these invite a forced exit
from national service,"

Victory would leave Makoni with much to do

From The Cape Times (SA), 11 March

Mugabe's lust for power has given any winner all the levers to rule

On the face of it, Simba Makoni faces a big problem even if does pull off a
shock victory in the March 29 Zimbabwean presidential election. He has no
political party contesting the parliamentary elections on the same day to
provide him with certain support, though some independent candidates are
pledged to him and some ruling Zanu PF candidates are believed to be secret
supporters. But, rather ironically, the absence of a political party will
not badly hamstring him precisely because President Robert Mugabe has loaded
the presidency with so much power that parliament is really little more than
a rubber stamp. Mugabe started off with a constitution strong on executive
powers, and carefully and strategically added to those with 18 gruesome
constitutional amendments. The president now only needs parliament to change
the constitution, make new laws and pass the budget.

The president already appoints the judges, all provincial governors, all
senior civil servants, the head of the electoral commission, the men who
accredit or ban journalists and newspapers. There are no checks and balances
in the constitution, no independent institutions, such as a human rights
commission. Zimbabwe's constitution is a hard right-wing of set controls
without any balances, which dictate every aspect of life, including the
price of bread. If Mugabe now, or perhaps someone else after March 29, can't
get enough laws passed to rule effectively, he can, in an emergency, fall
back on the handy Presidential Powers Temporary Measures Act, which allows
rule by presidential decree, in six-month tranches. At the last presidential
election, Movement for Democratic Change lawyers for Morgan Tsvangirai were
in court appealing against one of Mugabe's electoral decrees 12 hours before
polls opened.

The present constitution is an abortion, but it may just turn out to be
useful to Makoni should he do what seems unimaginable, and that is rid
Zimbabwe of the unbearable burden of Mugabe's destructive rule. Makoni would
have to unravel, dump or, if necessary, simply ignore some appalling laws at
the beginning, and might even have to deal with some unrest if he does not
carefully manage a losing Mugabe's vanity. He would also have to move in on
the central bank governor Gideon Gono, who now wields the most day-to-day
power in Zimbabwe. Gono's term of office only expires in October and nothing
can be done about the mad, multiple exchange rates and hugely-inflationary
printing of money until he has been dispatched and the bank returned to its
traditional role of fighting inflation.

There are a few dozen "independent" MPs and senators, largely from the old
Zanu PF, the one which brought Zimbabwe to independence and who will provide
a rump of support for Makoni, if they win their seats. Makoni also has
support from the opposition MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara. Mutambara's
party will probably win most legislative seats from the second city,
Bulawayo. His candidates and some put forward by Makoni from the reformist
wing of Zanu PF, in rural areas in the two Matabeleland provinces, will
probably win a chunk of seats - and possibly enough for a coalition. The
other MDC faction led by founding president Morgan Tsvangirai, which will
probably win all the Harare seats and seems to be attracting large numbers
to its rallies in other urban areas, including in the heart of Zanu PF
strongholds, could also perhaps assist him in parliament.

There will be some Zanu PF MPs in parliament who may have been elected on
the party ticket, but - when the chips are down - will support Makoni in
parliament when necessary. So his rule, if he wins, will be easy. His
problem remains how to get there and it's not going to be as easy as his
rhetoric would suggest - and certainly not the landslide victory he is
boasting about. Many ordinary voters in urban areas who traditionally
support the MDC are genuinely convinced that Makoni is a "stalking horse":
for Mugabe. Zanu PF's violent political history, its long control of the
massively partisan daily press and all radio and TV, have produced a
population, especially in urban areas, which depends on informal
information, much of it rumour. Some of the rumours are deliberately put
about, such as some of those about Makoni being a stalking horse.

Unfortunately for Makoni, some in Tsvangirai's well-heeled faction,
including those who still supported Zanu PF until the 2000 elections, are
spreading the stalking horse smear. Or are looking for other dirt with which
to taint Makoni. Rumours however, have their advantages. On Sunday, the best
of the day was that Vice-President Joice Mujuru had locked up her husband,
former army commander Solomon Mujuru, to prevent him attending Makoni's
Harare rally. Anyone predicting Makoni's support, or lack of it, in rural
areas is relying on urban gossip among the chattering classes, which is
very, very far from the heavily populated communal areas where 60% of voters
live. These are Mugabe's strongholds. But the people there are suffering
unprecedented hardships. Makoni went into Mashonaland East for a
drive-through campaign two weeks ago and he was mobbed. That, however, is a
Mujuru stronghold, and Solomon Mujuru, whatever he might say in public, is
quietly supporting Makoni.

How will Makoni do in Mugabe's home province, Mashonaland West, or
Mashonaland Central, or in the most populous province, Masvingo? How will he
manage if Mugabe thinks he needs to cheat? As he cheated in 2002? There are
many, many ways he could do it and never be caught, or the courts could
delay any electoral challenges almost indefinitely. There are indications
from Masvingo, at least, that headmen, paid by Mugabe to be loyal, have
broken ranks, but are encouraging peasants to vote for Tsvangirai, not
Makoni. Political scientist Brian Raftopoulos said last week that, if Mugabe
lost the presidential poll, it would be less traumatic for Zimbabweans if
Makoni emerged as the winner, rather than Tsvangirai: "Mugabe has said since
2000 that Morgan Tsvangirai will never rule Zimbabwe. "There has been no
reason to believe he has changed that position. So the acrimony, a possible
fightback and the responses from state and maybe even from the army, would
be stronger against a Tsvangirai victory."

Gap widens among anti-Mugabe rivals

Africa News, Netherlands

  Posted on Tuesday 11 March 2008 - 09:49
  Munyaradzi Mugadza, AfricaNews reporter in Harare, Zimbabwe
  The declared opposition candidates for the 29 March presidential election
in Zimbabwe have started mutually accusing each other, with the MDC alleging
that their rivals were not genuine opposition and arguing that they were
serving the interests of the West

  The Movement for Democratic Change launched a scathing attack on former
Finance minister and a ZANU-PF runaway, Simba Makoni, for joining in the
presidential race in what they perceive as a calculation of the West.

  Addressing the party supporters who gathered at the White City Stadium in
Bulawayo, Secretary General for the Tsvangirai led faction Tendai Biti said
Makoni is only serving the interests of the West. He said the whole Simba
Makoni is nothing but only initiated to bewilder Zimbabweans in the
harmonised elections.

  This comes after reports that some Western nations are sponsoring the
former Finance minister for regime change in Zimbabwe. Among the companies
sponsoring Makoni are SAB Miller and Citigroup who are eyeing investment
opportunities if Dr Makoni is elected into power.

  The secretary general said Makoni is tantamount to Chinese goods which
doesn't last long and urged people not to be fooled into believing that he
will harness the country's political situation regarded as among the worst
economies in the world.

  Makoni shocked Zimbabweans when he announced his election bid a few days
before the nomination court and has been doing the necessary preparation to
strengthen his support both in the urban and rural areas. Makoni was not
reached for comment and has distanced himself from the public arguing that
he wants to remain focused on his presidential journey.

War Vets And Zanu-PF MP Harass Makoni in Filabusi

SW Radio Africa (London)

11 March 2008
Posted to the web 11 March 2008

Tererai Karimakwenda

Presidential candidate Simba Makoni and his campaign team were harassed and
threatened by war veterans at Filabusi on Tuesday. They had stopped in this
town outside Bulawayo on their way to a rally in Zvishavane. Police diffused
the situation before it became violent.

Our Bulawayo correspondent Zenzele got the details from a Makoni campaign
coordinator just after the incident. He said the war veterans telephoned the
MP for Insiza, Andrew Langa, when they saw Makoni's team distributing
t-shirts at the council offices. They then blocked Makoni from meeting the
workers.

Langa, a violent official who was accused of murdering an MDC supporter at
the Insiza police station during the last parliamentary election, arrived to
find the council workers wearing the Makoni t-shirts. Zenzele said Langa
went into a rage, threatening that they would lose their jobs for supporting
Makoni, if Mugabe won the election.

Makoni and his supporters retreated to their vehicles and were allegedly
blocked from driving off by Langa and the war vets. The MP called the
police, thinking they would side with him, but the officer in charge for
Insiza came to Makoni's rescue by dispersing the war veterans.

MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai warned Makoni that he would experience
harassment, intimidation, assaults and the murder of his supporters in his
new role as an opposition leader. Speaking at a press conference in South
Africa last month, Tsvangirai criticised Makoni for having watched too long
while the opposition was brutalised by ZANU-PF. The incident in Filabusi was
not violent, but it may have given Makoni a taste of what it feels like to
oppose Mugabe and ZANU-PF.

We were unable to reach Andrew Langa or the Makoni campaign team for
comment. Makoni was due to address a rally in Zvishavane Tuesday afternoon.

Nyazura Police Ban MDC Rallies to Accommodate VP Msika

SW Radio Africa (London)

11 March 2008
Posted to the web 11 March 2008

Tichaona Sibanda

Police in Nyazura have told the MDC to cancel their rallies in Makoni south
on Wednesday, because of the anticipated presence of Vice-President Joseph
Msika in the area.

The MDC was cleared by police last week to address several rallies in Makoni
south but were told Tuesday this had changed after Msika decided to campaign
for Zanu-PF at the same venues in the area.

Huggins Kashiri, an MDC district official, said police had no right to
cancel their rallies because they notified them well in advance.

The party's parliamentary candidate for the area, Pishai Muchauraya, is in
possession of clearance letters from the police for the rallies to go ahead
as planned.

'We are going to fight the cancellations at the court. This is unfair, just
because Msika has decided to make himself available tomorrow (Wednesday)
doesn't give them the right overlook the bookings done weeks ago,' Mashiri
said.

Zanu-PF is using state machinery to buy votes for Mugabe in the coming polls
and this week people received farming implements, while Zanu-PF MPs have
been distributing stands to villagers in the district.

'This is vote buying at its very best. Surprisingly the farm implements have
come late as the farming season has ended,' Kashiri added.

Only two weeks ago Muchauraya, the MDC parliamentary candidate for Makoni
South, was attacked along with his aide and a driver. The three were on
their way to the constituency when they stopped over at a roadside store to
buy refreshments.

A mob travelling in a tractor drawn trailer approached the trio outside
Lamour supermarket close to the Africa University. The driver of the tractor
blocked Muchauraya's truck and the mob set upon the trio and ripped off the
MDC t-shirts. Muchauraya described the attack as 'vicious and callous'

Sokwanele - Election Watch 19

Zimbabwe Election Watch
Issue 19 : 11 March 2008

Executive Summary

A Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer mission comprising about 80 officials from the region was due to arrive in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare on Sunday - 19 days ahead of the March 29 elections.

SADC said it expected to have around 150 observer delegates in place before the combined presidential, parliamentary, senate and local government elections.

South Africa is due to send an observer mission with 54 members drawn from government, parliament, the political opposition and civil society. South Africa has previously observed elections in Zimbabwe independently, but for this crucial election, the group will operate under the auspices of SADC. The controversial 2005 election was endorsed by South Africa, generating widespread criticism.

The South African-based Electoral Institute of Southern Africa has sought permission to send observers, but a spokesman for the group said it awaited a response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An application was also under consideration from the Parliamentary Forum of SADC, whose application to send observers to the 2005 general elections was turned down.

The Zimbabwean government announced last Friday that European Union member states, the United States and the Commonwealth had been excluded from the list of observers to be invited. The only European country to be invited is Russia. China, now a major trading partner and provider of surveillance equipment, is also on the list.

The EU and USA both imposed targeted sanctions on President Mugabe and his inner circle after widespread allegations that he had rigged his re-election in 2002.

Expressing grave concern about the biased selection of observer groups, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party led by Morgan Tsvangirai said it showed the government had a lot to hide.

Similar criticism came from the Law Society of Zimbabwe, which said the exclusion of Western monitors highlighted the democratic deficit.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), a domestic election-monitoring and observation group, had to submit applications for election observers to the Ministry of Justice. The ZESN said it would face major difficulties if its observer applications were rejected.

Lawyers urge Mugabe to charge defence chief

Zim Online

by Own Correspondent Wednesday 12 March 2008

JOHANNESBURG - The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has called on
the state to prosecute the country's top military commander, General
Constantine Chiwenga, for allegedly threatening voters to back President
Robert Mugabe in elections at the month-end.

The General was earlier this week quoted by local press as having said
Mugabe's rivals in the presidential election, Morgan Tsvangirai and Simba
Makoni, are sell-outs and agents of the West's regime change agenda in
Zimbabwe.

Chiwenga, who is commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) that
comprises the army and air force, is said to have declared that the military
would not salute anyone else except Mugabe, in what analysts said was a
clear threat to stage a military coup in the event the veteran leader lost
the March 29 polls.

The ZLHR said Chiwenga's statements were a violation of Sections 133B (c)
and 134 (3) (b) of the Electoral Act that make it a criminal offence to
intimidate people to vote for a particular candidate or use undue influence
to force people to vote or not vote during an election.

In addition, Chiwenga had also breached Southern African Development
Community (SADC) guidelines under which member states are obliged to ensure
that elections adhere to the principles of freedom of association and
political tolerance, the lawyers' body said.

"Commander Chiwenga's statements serve to directly intimidate both members
of the ZDF and the electorate, through implied threats of violence, from
voting freely for a presidential candidate of their choice, as is their
right," the ZHLR said a statement.

"It is therefore clear that the ZDF Commander is in breach of the law and
the regional guidelines, and should be prosecuted by the appropriate
authorities forthwith," it added.

Both Zimbabwe Electoral Commission spokesman Shupikai Mashereni and acting
Attorney General Bharat Patel were not immediately available to shed light
on what, if any, action would be taken against Chiwenga.

But this is not the first time that top security commanders have attempted
to dictate how Zimbabweans should vote. In 2002 the commanders of the army,
air force, police, prison and secret services announced just before
presidential elections that year that they would not salute a leader who did
not fight in the country's 1970's independence war.

This was again seen as a threat to overthrow Tsvangirai if he defeated
Mugabe. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change party leader did not
fight in the liberation war.

The military is credited with keeping Mugabe in power, always ready to use
brutal tactics to keep public discontent in check in the face of an economic
meltdown that has spawned hyperinflation and shortages of food, fuel,
essential medicines, hard cash and just about every basic survival
commodity.

Political analysts say support from the military as well as a skewed
political playing field is enough to ensure victory for Mugabe despite
Zimbabwe's deepening hunger and economic crisis. - ZimOnline

Madhuku's 'suicidal politics' dangerous for Zimbabwe

Zim Online

by Mutumwa Mawere Wednesday 12 March 2008

JOHANNESBURG - Lovemore Madhuku presumably on behalf of the National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) has attempted to justify in an article
entitled:"Makoni hijacking the struggle" why Makoni poses a more significant
risk to the change agenda than the removal of President Robert Mugabe.

While accepting that in the current Zimbabwean constitutional order there is
nothing to disable Makoni like Morgan Tsvangirai from participating as
presidential candidates, he makes the case that Makoni should not benefit
from the same constitution that allows Mugabe and Tsvangirai to enter the
race as individuals seeking a direct mandate from the people of Zimbabwe.

The construction of Madhuku's argument raises a number of troubling
questions about not only the agenda of the NCA but about his understanding
of the existing constitution as it relates to the office of the President
and the basis on which such a person is legally created.

The hypothesis presented by Madhuku is that the change agenda is about
ending the dictatorship of an ill-defined ZANU-PF regime by ushering what he
describes as a "genuinely democratic dispensation".

To the extent that Makoni is historically associated with ZANU-PF he then
argues that he is a fake and anyone who dares support him is necessarily an
enemy of change.

It surprising that Madhuku's construction of the change agenda resonates
with Mugabe's own construction in so far as the participation of Makoni in
the race.

They both believe that any credible Presidential candidate has to be
pre-qualified by a political party fully knowing that there is no
constitutional impediment on Makoni running as an independent.

Madhuku rightly poses the question: how should civic society relate to the
Makoni initiative?

He chooses to call it an initiative and not an exercise of Makoni's
constitutional right.

He then raises the question whether it should be the business of civic
society organisations to pronounce their preferences among contesting
presidential aspirants?

What is evident from Madhuku's analysis is that he genuinely believes that
his participation in the constitutional movement has uniquely endowed him
with extra constitutional rights to know better what is in the national
interest.

He makes the case like Mugabe that based on his superior values, beliefs and
principles, Makoni's decision to participate as an independent Presidential
candidate is fundamentally misconceived.

He then proceeds to conclude that the so-called initiative has no grassroots
support as if to suggest that the only way to become a President of Zimbabwe
contrary to the provisions of the constitution is to seek an endorsement
from civic society organisations (CSOs) who now have arrogated to themselves
the rights ordinarily reserved for citizens in any constitutional democracy.

If Madhuku cannot respect the current bill of rights enshrined in the
constitution of Zimbabwe then what are we to expect from the so-called
people driven constitution that he has been advocating.

Who are the people in Madhuku's world?  Could it be the case that people
like Makoni would be stripped of rights under his proposed new order?

A case is also made by Madhuku that the so-called Makoni initiative
misunderstands the nature of the responses required to address Zimbabwean's
deepening political crisis.

It is not clear from Madhuku's analysis how and why Makoni's candidature
alone will necessarily compromise what he describes as a fatally defective
electoral process.

If the sole purpose of the election is to preserve the status quo, then why
would Madhuku find it acceptable for Tsvangirai to participate and not
Makoni and for that matter anyone else?

He then makes the conclusion that: "Elections under the current constitution
cannot deliver change whatever the credentials of the contestants and
however sophisticated their strategies. Until Zimbabweans put their energies
together and push the current regime to embrace a genuine and people-driven
reform process that leads to a democratic constitution, power will not
change hands through a mere election. Participation in the elections on
March 29 cannot be for the purpose of winning power. It can only be for any
other good reasons."

Based on the above construction, he then argues that power will not change
hands under the current constitution but finds it acceptable to urge people
to go and vote not for change but only for a particular party and
Presidential candidate.

While purporting to accept that the elections are a farce he makes the case
that it does provide a platform for Zimbabweans to make a statement against
the Mugabe regime's sins and sees it as a stepping stone to a new phase in
the struggle for change.

In order to justify his political bias he strangely makes the case that the
election must be a statement in support of a set of values, beliefs and
principles, which guide his version of post-election struggle for change in
Zimbabwe.

While accepting that Tsvangirai's leadership may not be what Zimbabwe
requires, he nevertheless concludes that to the extent that he symbolises
the founding values of the movement he deserves support.

Surprising he does not attempt to give Mugabe and Makoni the same benefit of
the doubt.

Having gone to a great length to justify why Tsvangirai and not Makoni
should be supported, Madhuku makes the case that a vote for either Morgan
Tsvangirai or Simba Makoni can only be for other good reasons.

He exposes his agenda in supporting Tsvangirai that this election will seal
his fate opening a window for new leadership of the change agenda. In other
words, Madhuku needs Tsvangirai to fail so that he can have new currency in
the post election period.

There is nothing in Madhuku's analysis to suggest that he is motivated by a
genuine desire for change or more fundamentally a new constitution rather it
is evident that his kind of politics is about partisanship instead of
principle and the past instead of the future.

It is remarkable that Madhuku has the audacity to make the argument that
this election should be about the "No. 2 position" and not about removing
Mugabe from office.

He concedes that the vote will not count but he nevertheless needs the
election to justify a post election agenda that he strongly feels will be
distorted by any force of reason emanating from Makoni's intervention.

He appears to be making the case that Tsvangirai has been a reliable partner
in the politics of confusion and endless bickering.

While one can appreciate the role the MDC has played over the last 8 years
in breathing life into many non-state actors including the NCA, it is
extremely irresponsible for Madhuku to attempt to recommend the continued
suffering of the Zimbabwean people for what appears to be self serving
reasons.

On Tsvangirai's viability as President of Zimbabwe, this is what Madhuku had
to say: "Tsvangirai represents the route we have been following since 1997.
He is, as a person, not the answer. He represents the answer and must be
supported. A vote for Tsvangirai's presidential bid is a statement against a
"reformed ZANU-PF" agenda. It is important that this statement be made
against Simba Makoni and his group because their set of beliefs distorts our
post-election agenda of a total assault against the system."

Madhuku appears to be preoccupied by the post-election construction than by
the prospect of the election yielding the kind of change Zimbabweans have
been yearning for and deserve.

It is evident that he is constructively working for Mugabe to win so that
his broader agenda can have a new lease of life.

Instead of focusing on removing the stumbling block to Zimbabwean progress,
Madhuku is now arguing that Mugabe is not the real problem but Makoni and
Tsvangirai.

He makes the case that Makoni is no naïve that he would enter a race whose
outcome is genuinely predetermined.

If anything, Makoni's participation has helped in confusing Mugabe to the
extent that he does not seem to have a coherent message anymore.

The draft constitution presented an improvement but through the efforts of
people like Madhuku it never saw the light of day.

And now on the eve of a historic election, we find Madhuku again on the side
of Mugabe arguing that chaos can replace the ballot as a change mechanism.

If Zimbabweans were inclined to follow Madhuku's suicidal politics of using
the so-called grassroots people to replace institutions of government then
surely the last eight years could have demonstrated otherwise.

Who will benefit from the post election economic and political trauma?  It
is important that Zimbabweans reflect on what is at stake on 29 March and
proceed to constructively work to ensure this election be a decisive one.
Surely, if Zimbabwe at the minimum has a new leader, that will mark a new
chapter in the history of the country.

The country needs a new leader and the only constant thing since
independence is President Mugabe and there can be no doubt that a new leader
will open new possibilities for the country.

It is never too late to convert Madhuku to a genuine democrat who can rise
above personal interests.  Zimbabwe is too important to be converted into a
football that can be kicked around for political expediency.

New Zimbabwe Farm Takeover Shuts Down Flower Export Operation

VOA

By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
11 March 2008

The future of one of Zimbabwe's few remaining export horticulture
enterprises, Odzi Drift Estate, looks bleak following a takeover by a top
Lands Ministry official.

Resettlement Director Christopher Mushambi of the Ministry of Lands, Land
Reform and Resettlement invaded the farm in February bearing an offer letter
from his ministry and has ignored a court order to leave the farm some 40
kilometers from Mutare.

Sources familiar with the situation said ruling ZANU-PF party youths are
guarding the farm for Mushambi, and there were reports of looting of
equipment, livestock and food. Mushambi himself could not be reached for
comment.

Odzi Drift Estate exported flowers to the Netherlands, bringing foreign
exchange that Zimbabwe desperately needs, but exports have been halted by
the invasion.

Odzi Drift co-owner Lynne Evans, who has fled the farm, told reporter Jonga
Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Mushambi has already planted
beans in her flower fields.

Go Home And Vote, NGOs Urge Expats

UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

11 March 2008
Posted to the web 11 March 2008

Johannesburg

As Zimbabweans prepare for national elections on 29 March, civil society
organisations have started a campaign to ensure that those in the diaspora
go home to vote.

"Power to the People - We demand: one citizen, one vote, independently-run
elections and an end to political violence", says a billboard outside Park
Station, a transport hub in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, placed by
Zimbabwe Democracy Now, an activist non-governmental organisation (NGO). The
billboard is one of several that have sprung up in South Africa, including
on the border with neighbouring Zimbabwe.

I am here illegally and if I cross the border and go home I might not be
able to come back

A 'Rock The Vote' concert, a few metres from the billboard in Park Station,
urges Zimbabweans to go home as part of the "Get out and vote" campaign, a
group initiative by NGOs like the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN),
the National Constitutional Assembly, the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum, and Crisis
in Zimbabwe.

It is estimated more than two million Zimbabweans are living in South
Africa. "We are saying that those who can go home should go and vote; those
that cannot go should pick up the phone and urge their relatives not to
forget to go and vote," said Mathula Lusinga, in charge of the NGOs' voter
education campaign. The campaign began on 4 February and runs till the end
of March.

However, Nonhlahla Sibanda, a Zimbabwean in Johannesburg, told IRIN she
would not go home to vote because "I am here illegally and if I cross the
border and go home I might not be able to come back."

Sibanda is one of thousands of Zimbabweans who have risked life and limb to
cross the border in search of a better life in South Africa. Many are
deported. According to the International Organisation of Migration (IOM),
they assisted 126,000 Zimbabweans at their reception centre in the
Zimbabwean border town of Beitbridge in 2007 alone.

The Zimbabwean government does not allow its expatriate population to vote.
Simon Khaya Moyo, Zimbabwe's ambassador to South Africa, recently said there
was currently no legal provision for an external or online ballot.

"That is why I sometimes find it rather misinformed or simply mischievous
that there are groups, usually comprising youths picketing the [Zimbabwean]
embassy, demanding external ballot ... I have always stressed the point that
those people, if genuine, should go back home and participate in the
electoral processes."

Lusinga, of the NGOs' voter campaign, said, "Some of them [expatriates]
would like to go, but they tell us they have no money to go home."

Tendai Mutasa, a Zimbabwean at the 'Rock the Vote' concert, who intends to
go Zimbabwe to cast his ballot, remarked: "We want to go home, we are
struggling here. I am prepared to go and stay home if I can get a job and
take care of my family."

Zimbabweans at the concert told IRIN that every time they called home they
where told how expensive it was to live in Zimbabwe. "The money that we are
sending home is no longer able to take care of our families. We just hear
the exchange rate has gone up, but you can't buy anything with the millions
of Zimbabwean dollars."

Although GDP per capita has been falling for over 10 years, it remains well
above the the median for low-income sub-Saharan African countries. But an
inflation rate running at over 100,000 percent in a country once touted as a
beacon of development has pushed households to the brink.

An IOM study in 2004 found that nearly all Zimbabwean expatriates living in
the United Kingdom and South Africa maintained regular contact with family
members back home, and about three-quarters of those interviewed said they
sent remittances. Two-thirds also sent non-monetary gifts, most often
clothing (85 percent) followed by food (43 percent).

Two-thirds of the respondents in the IOM study said they would like to
return to Zimbabwe and live there at some point in the future, and 21
percent said they might like to; only 12 percent definitely did not want to
return.

This month's election pits President Robert Mugabe, 84, who helped bring the
country to independence and has led Zimbabwe since 1980, against two other
contenders. The outcome of the ballot is widely regarded as key to
Zimbabwe's stability and development.

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]

Zimbabwe opposition wants to float currency

Reuters

Tue 11 Mar 2008, 11:08 GMT

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's main opposition party said on Tuesday that if
it won elections this month it would quickly move to float the local dollar
and issue a new currency as part of measures to stabilise the economy.

The southern African country has a multiple exchange rate system where the
Zimbabwe dollar is officially pegged at Z$30,000 to the dollar while the
national revenue authority uses a rate of Z$270,000 per dollar.

But on the black market it is trading at up to Z$40 million per dollar and
analysts say it is likely to continue weakening in tandem with the economy.

"We are going to float the Zimbabwe dollar because we realise everyone is
now trading on the black market so if you float it no one is going to be
hurt," said Tendai Biti, the secretary general of the larger faction of the
main opposition Movement for Democratic Change at the launch of his party's
policy document.

The MDC has promised to turn around an economy grappling with the world's
highest inflation rate at over 100,000 percent by raising production in key
mining, agriculture and manufacturing sectors if elected to power in general
elections on March 29.

The key contest is the presidential race which pits President Robert Mugabe
against rival MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and former finance minister Simba
Makoni who was expelled from the ruling ZANU-PF party last month.

Zimbabwe's economic crisis is also marked by rising unemployment, shortages
of food, fuel and electricity. Mugabe denies mismanaging the economy which
he blames on Western sanctions.

SW Radio Africa - Violet Gonda interviews Morgan Tsvangirai

SW Radio Africa Transcript

HOT SEAT INTERVIEW: Journalist Violet Gonda interviews presidential candidate Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai.

Broadcast 7 March 2008

Violet Gonda: Opposition leader and presidential candidate Mr Morgan Tsvangirai is the guest on the programme Hot Seat today. Thank you for joining us Mr Tsvangirai.

Morgan Tsvangirai : Thank you Violet.

Violet : Now let's start with getting your take on the state of elections in the country.

Tsvangirai : Well as you know Violet that the conditions for elections are uneven. In fact they are contestable before we even begin. The level playing field is not there. We are going to run these elections on ZANU PF rules and you can imagine when there is a referee who throws the whistle away and joins the other team, the outcome is just predetermined.

Violet : So this is now becoming like a rhetorical question - if you know that you are going to run these elections on ZANU PF rules, why bother participating?

Tsvangirai : Well we are past the debate against participation and I want to say that, in our view we are in a struggle. We are in a democratic struggle and any struggle has various fazes and various events and this election is just one of those events in the democratic struggle. For us, we are giving Zimbabwe a fighting chance against the dictatorship; of course people will say we are legitimising Mugabe. Contrary to that, we are actually de-legitimising Mugabe. If there is any last breath or any residual line of legitimacy it would be the final left. So on that basis it's no longer the basis of participating or none participating; we are going in fully aware of the consequences, full aware of the circumstances but also fully aware that we are in a democratic struggle.

Violet : Now I would like to probe you on a number of issues to do with policy and these are the same sort of questions that we would put to the other presidential candidate Dr Simba Makoni, and of course Mr Robert Mugabe if he ever agrees to talk to us. Now a considerable amount of population require food aid, there is 80% unemployment and inflation is over 100 000%. What is your economic recovery plan?

Tsvangirai : Violet, we have to start from the basis that the economy is really on its knees and that there would be need for short term intervention even to give people things like food, drugs, schools and transport. So as far as we are concerned we have a short term intervention around those areas. We will have to provide food to people and to us that is basic. We of course have a recovery plan that is based on our policy framework which is called Restart. We do recognise that there are fundamental tenants to any economic recovery plans. One - based on a strict fiscal and monetary policy in order to address the inflationary conditions that we face, secondly- to ensure that we have a participatory people centred economic development thrust, and three - to ensure that we can recover this economy by stopping the bleeding that has been taking place through patronage and corruption.

In the medium to long term, we of course in that medium term we need a short term injection of foreign currency from those willing to assist us but also from our own savings in the country - which is quite a huge amount of money. But in the medium to long term, we need to create conditions that will allow for the economy to start re-investing itself addressing the medium to long term needs of infrastructure and institutional support that has already been affected by ZANU PF's misrule. So, we are very conscious of the thrust of economic recovery and this is what we have promised the people of Zimbabwe that if you give us the mandate; we can assure you that we will address the economic needs of a country as a key priority of our policy.

Violet : Now the International Monetary Fund offers plans to reduce the sizes of governments, to reduce inflation and also putting a ceiling mark on Government wages. Now some analysts say that such conditions, if undertaken they lead to greater poverty. What is your response to such IMF demands?

Tsvangirai : Well in our plan we are not looking into the IMF and I don't think the IMF will immediately come to our rescue because we know that the IMF does not rush to an economy which has deteriorated to our level. But there are people at the bi-lateral/multi-lateral institutions that can assist us, but it also has to depend on our own policy trust which is our fiscal policies - how do we reduce the government. But also even when you reduce the size of government and make saving, you also have to understand that you have to provide safety nets for those who will be affected in the short term but in the long term everyone will benefit. This is not an IMF prescription. It is our own home grown economic policy thrust. Any country that has gone through that level of hyper-inflation conditions has to understand there are certain sacrifices that everyone has to make before things turn around and 150 000% inflation is no joke, it's probably a record in the world.

So as you come out of the trough, there are certain sacrifices that the government, the people have to make in order to make life better for everyone.

Violet : So are there any governments that have offered to help in a new Zimbabwe . Who will you look to for help?

Tsvangirai : We look to both East and West - those governments that will be able to assist us. I cannot at this stage mention any particular governments but I am very confident that once the political conflict or the political stalemate has been resolved, there will be people who will be ready to assist the new Zimbabwe to begin again to bring it back on its feet. This country has got a lot of potential, both in terms of partnerships, business opportunities and of course bringing back the multitudes of skilled human-resource-based that Zimbabwe has got in the Diaspora, to come and build the country and I am sure that a combination of both will actually see this country pull out of this current trough.

Violet : On the issue of the educational and the health sector, what is your position on privatisation of such basic services?

Tsvangirai : I don't believe in the privatisation of public institutions like hospitals. We are a social democratic party we believe that the state must provide the basics to the majority of the people and one of those basic services that the majority must access is health care and education. I believe also that the government would be able to deal with these issues much more effectively than private hospitals because the majority cannot afford it especially in the rural areas and the urban poor. We will still have to provide government services to our health and education because the majority; 80- 85% of people have to depend on state support. I believe that will still remain our very fundamental policy.

Violet : What would be the changes you would make then to Zimbabwean tax structures where workers are complaining that they are being taxed more than the companies because they also pay service tax for water etc etc?

Tsvangirai : Well our taxation policy is based on the simple principle that it's a proportional tax system. It's based on the higher you receive the more you pay tax. You cannot afford people who are below the poverty datum line to sustain the burden of fiscal responsibilities, whilst the majority - some of whom are not even paying the taxes getting away with that. So I think we need a tax structure, every government would need to design a tax structure that will not discourage those who are able to make it in the new system but also protect those who are at the back of the relay so that they can sustain their lives. I know that the majority of the workers in this country - given the rate of inflation -should not pay taxes but once we have dealt with conditions of inflation and everyone is in a healthy state then we can start looking at the tax policy to make sure that everyone contributes.

Violet : Will you give subsidies and if so where will the money coming from?

Tsvangirai : No one is talking about subsidies here. The policy of subsidising actually benefits those who can afford. You need government intervention in areas where the poor can benefit. You cannot have a blanket subsidy so that even those who can afford also benefit from that subsidy. I think it will be very dangerous to subsidise people who can afford - you subside education, you subside health for those who can afford. We are talking about subsiding at the point of service for those that cannot afford.

Violet : Ok and for those that can afford what will you do to that, do you think it will work to subsidise - like to subsidise critical industry?

Tsvangirai : No we cannot subsidise for those who can afford it will be detrimental to freedom of choice. These have been the policies that Mugabe has been pursuing for the last 30 years and look at the result. There is no freedom of choice, even for schools, even for hospitals, even for basic services. Let those who can afford have that choice but the majority must have a standard system that can assist them to have a standard life.

Violet : Let's move on to other policy issues. The issue of Matabeleland has been a sore issue for a long time, is there any program in your government plans to address the grievances around the Gukurahundi genocide?

Tsvangirai : When I stated at our Mutare launch that whilst we are not going to bring back the lives of those who have died there is something that you can do. For instance; you can start looking at those communities and have measures that can raise the lives of those people in those communities in Matabeleland . Roads, schools, clinics and all that and above all allow for Matabeleland to be a special economic zone with special tax so that those who want to invest can invest. But overall I think the policy of devolution that we have enunciated is actually a very important policy because it allows people for self determination and I am very committed to that policy. The other thing that we can also talk about is the issue of truth and justice - not necessarily as an instrument of retribution but as an instrument of national healing. That way we can begin to atone ourselves of the past misdeeds.

Violet : What about on the issue where people like Robert Mugabe have profiteered and stripped national assets, what would you do with people like that?

Tsvangirai : Unfortunately it's not something that you can outline as a general policy to say those who have benefited from the system in a corrupt way should pay for it because you don't know how much and you don't know the amount, the extent to which the country has been compromised. I think that unless you have got the facts, you cannot make a general policy because you might find that this might just be rumours and at the end of the day when you make an analysis you are not be able to establish how far the country has been compromised. So as a general rule you will have to put a stop to corruption and corrupt practices. Maybe if you are not able to establish the level of corruption maybe you need to move on as a country and start a new chapter.

Violet : But still Mr Tsvangirai will your government try to do something to investigate these allegations of corruption I am saying this because.(interrupted)

Tsvangirai : Absolutely, absolutely you need to investigate because you need to satisfy yourselves to ensure that the country has not been compromised to an extent that through corrupt practices, the previous government has compromised elections to that extent. So you need to establish that. But I am saying that experiences elsewhere have shown that it's very difficult to establish the level of compromise the country has suffered as a result of past government misdeed but certainly we need to investigate and satisfy ourselves but as I said the underlying thing is that you need to focus on rebuilding the country as a priority.

Violet : What is your policy on the land reform programme?

Tsvangirai : The land reform programme is very, very clear. I enunciated it when I was in Mutare. It basically a three pronged strategy. First, you need to establish through a land audit who owns what, then secondly, through an independent land commission reporting to parliament with special terms of reference to rectify, find out an equitable system of rationalising the land ownership and land use in the country and thirdly to ensure that you actually make agricultural land reform a focus of your economic recovery. In other words how do you increase agricultural productivity so that the country does not go hungry again. The other thing that would be very, very fundamental is that we need to establish farm sizes of various regions and entitle people to land so that they can look after the land. It is not just an emotional issue it is also an economic asset for the country, so one needs to look at the method used in the land resettlement programme or the land reformed programme as undertaken by ZANU PF if we are going to make use of that land.

Violet : So will this include removing the people who invaded the farms illegally and people with multiple farms?

Tsvangirai : Those people are Zimbabweans. All that we are saying is that we need an equitable all inclusive participatory process so that Zimbabweans can be properly resettled and that they can make use of the land without discrimination. What ZANU PF has been doing is to discriminate against political opponents - none of these people who are there can belong to MDC without being victimised. So we are saying land reform is for all Zimbabweans we have to start from the basis that land is a national asset for everybody - ZANU PF, MDC, Ndonga and whatever political affiliation . (interrupted)

Violet : Mr Tsvangirai you are not answering my question. I asked specifically about the people with multiple farms, what are you going to do specifically with those people who invaded farms illegally and some have multiple farms, even though . (interrupted)

Tsvangirai : No I have answered. I have answered that by saying that they are Zimbabweans and they will be part of an overall land re-settlement programs if they need to be resettled, if they need to be re-adjusted that's the nationalisation policy that will come out of the land commission. I cannot determine specifically how they will be handled but I can say safely that they are Zimbabweans who are entitled to land and that there will be an all inclusive policy without discrimination of political affiliations.

Violet : Now according to the Herald the Commissioner of Prisons retired Major-General Paradzayi Zimondi said recently that if either you or Dr Makoni won you'd give back land to former colonial masters and he warned this would provoke war. He allegedly said land reform would never be reversed and he would do everything to safeguard it. What is your reaction to this ?

Tsvangirai : First of all I think that the election is that the people of Zimbabwe are going too chose a government of their choice. That's what the purpose of the election is. You cannot determine or you cannot even define how the people of Zimbabwe should vote or should choose their leadership. Once that leadership has been given the mandate, it has been given the mandate to implicate the policy according to the people's mandate. It is very unfortunate when an individual in the armed forces takes it upon himself to enunciate and actually undermine the people's will. I hope that is not shared by everyone, I hope it's an individual opinion. But even if it's an individual opinion, it would appear as it is an attempt to subvert the people's will and I think that the people will take great exception to those kind of comments. It is very unfortunate, the MDC believe that the army and all these uniformed institutions are national institutions and that they are professional institutions and that like everywhere in the world these are institutions that defend the people and not undermine the will of the people.

Violet : He is not the only person who has made threats, even Robert Mugabe himself has been on TV he has issued some veiled threats that he will not allow an opposition victory. What will you do when elections come and . (interrupted)

Tsvangirai : I am going to these elections to campaign to be elected by the people of Zimbabwe , right, and I am not going to the people of Zimbabwe to be elected by Robert Mugabe or any individual. It is the mandate of the people of Zimbabwe . Once the people of Zimbabwe have given us the mandate, we will carry out that mandate. Those are intimidatory tactics that have been reminiscent of Robert Mugabe and some of these people who have lost the will of the people, they have lost the support of the people and want to be pre-empting it by these kind of comments they are not helpful for the development of maturity in the country.

Violet : Going back to the issue of the land, women are 52% of the population but only 15% actually benefited in the last reform program, will your government look at that particular pattern of re- distribution?

Tsvangirai : Well, in our policy we don't discriminate against women, I mean look it is also a cultural issue that sometimes we get these imbalances. But certainly I don't think that the policy that will give to the land commission will necessarily insist in discriminating women. We believe that it will be an equitable all inclusive process without discrimination of gender sex or whatever. I believe that it's time we sorted out this land reform program once and for all for the good of the country and the discrimination of the women certainly should not be entertained and I hope that the land commission will approach it from that perspective.

Violet : How are you going to re-introduce this viable commercial farming, will it also include inviting back commercial farmers who have been displaced?

Tsvangirai : Commercial farming is commercial farming it is not a colour issue. It is about the productive nature and skills that are required on those farms. In other words it is the ability of the individuals that will be farming to produce. I don't look at it as bringing back the former commercial farmers. In fact in our policy we have said we are not going back to the pre 2000 situation neither should we condone what ZANU PF has done because of the method the haphazard method. So whilst we are saying we are not going to recover, we also appreciate the fact that there are so many people that has to acquire the necessary abilities to use those farms in a commercial way. I am sure that there is already sufficient manpower to do so. All they need is support and all they need is training and once that support and training is there they will start producing to the levels that any commercial farmer should produce.

Violet : Also going back to the issue of women representation. The African Union set a 50/50 aspiration that women should be in all public offices. Now in your government will you observe the same for women?

Tsvangirai : Well Violet the issue of women representation is appreciated, that is the optimum. That is the ideal. 50% is ideal but you know that development especially when you have separate development of men and women becomes slow because of discrimination of the past. So I think that starting from encouraging women to be MPs, I think we have started on a third - a quota system and I hope that we get the right quality for the people to be participating and that the women themselves will come forward and participate in the political and administrative institutions of the country. But it's not something that you wake up one morning and have 50% even if you were to wish it. It's something that has to be a deliberate policy and I think that we as a party have already started that, starting with these current parliamentary and the local government elections.

Violet : Some say there have been indications in your party of intra-party violence against women. What will you do to deal with the marginalisation of women in you party?

Tsvangirai : Well I think that the issue of violence is not an issue that is only to the MDC. I think the issue of violence is a culture that has been introduced by ZANU PF. We in the party have always condemned violence but its one thing to condemn and it's another thing to have zero tolerance on violence. We have addressed these issues by ensuring that in order to achieve parity we had to start from somewhere and we have said we have instructed and directives that all oppositions should be a third - as a way of starting to introduce women in position of authority and in positions of representation. So in the end I am sure that with that basis parity will be achieved at some stage. But you can't start with parity when you don't even have anything, and we are very cognoscente of the fact that we need to invest in women leadership to build their confidence also to address some of the cultural limitations that are very, very prevalent.

Violet : What about on the issue of the constitution. I know that the opposition has been pushing for a new constitution for a long time - but in your new government will you change