zimfinalpush
Politics blog
No change in ANC Zimbabwe policy
Contrary to recent press reports, Mbeki still backs ZANU-PF
James Myburgh
05 April 2007
The lead headline in Beeld newspaper yesterday was "Mbeki vs. Mugabe." The newspaper claimed that President Thabo Mbeki had given one of his "sharpest reproofs" to Robert Mugabe in his recent interview with the Financial Times. In fact, Mbeki made clear in the interview that he continued to support ZANU-PF's hold on power in Zimbabwe. He stated, "You see for President Mugabe and that leadership of ZANU-PF believes that they are running a democratic country…That was one of the points [Mugabe] made:
Since independence in 1980 we have without fail held elections as scheduled…They [dispute] the notion that there could be an attempt to hold onto power outside of the political processes… [T]hey would contest a view that ZANU-PF continues in power through other than democratic means."
Mbeki did not directly endorse this view, mindful perhaps of the Western audience he was addressing, but the ANC's official position is that ZANU-PF is a 'democratically elected' government. As far back as early 2000 a substantial majority of the Zimbabwean electorate has wanted a change in government, and would have elected the Movement for Democratic Change if they had been allowed to do so. The ANC has, regardless of their wishes, backed ZANU-PF's continued hold on power through the three stolen elections of 2000, 2002, and 2005. The same elaborate charade has been followed on each occasion.
A month before the June 2000 elections an American observer group released a report which stated that the political violence in Zimbabwe and the numerous restrictions on the opposition's ability to campaign meant "the conditions for credible democratic elections do not exist in Zimbabwe at this time." When asked about these conclusions on a visit to the United States Mbeki replied that it was "not correct to be making any prejudgements. If you stand there a month before the elections and already discredit them, I don't think that is correct". The ANC proceeded to endorse the results of the polls, and congratulated ZANU-PF on their win.
Mbeki called on all parties to "respect and abide by the outcome as the expression of the democratic will of the people of Zimbabwe."
In his opening address to parliament in February 2002 Mbeki claimed, "We will work tirelessly to support the people of Zimbabwe to hold free and fair elections in their country" as it was in the interest of the whole region that the government that emerges from the March presidential elections is "legitimate and enjoys the support of the majority". He announced that South Africa would send two missions to observe the elections. Former ANC MP Sam Motsuenyane would head the South African Observer mission. While the South African Parliamentary Mission would be headed by the new ANC chief whip, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. According to Mbeki these teams would have one mission only to "let the people of Zimbabwe speak through the ballot box!" The ANC components of these missions chose to ignore the violence directed against opposition supporters in the run up to the poll, and the restrictions on the ability of the MDC to campaign. Shortly before the poll Mapisa-Nqakula reported that their team had covered most of the country and that "although there were incidents of intimidation, the team believes work is going on to ensure a climate conducive to free and fair elections". Motsuenyane said that "while the situation is far from ideal, we believe that conditions prevail for elections to be held to reflect the true will of the people
of Zimbabwe".
Zimbabwean government officials claimed that Mugabe had won the election with 1.7 million to Morgan Tsvangirai's 1.3 million. In fact, since the usual ZANU-PF tactics of violence and intimidation had failed to secure Mugabe a majority of votes cast, his victory had had to be secured through the wholesale rigging of the count. Yet, in his interim report Motsuenyane stated that it is "the view of the SAOM that the outcome of the… elections should be considered legitimate". Mbeki's ANC spokesman, Smuts Ngonyama, stated that "the people of Zimbabwe have spoken and let their will be respected by all." The parliamentary observer mission claimed that the results were a "credible expression of the will of the people of
Zimbabwe". The South African cabinet essentially endorsed the results, stating they would continue to relate to ZANU-PF "as the elected government of that country". Mbeki also "noted and accepted" the reports of the two observer missions.
The ANC response to the 2005 parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe followed the same pattern. A month before the elections Mbeki said that he had "no reason to think that anybody in Zimbabwe will act in a way that will militate against elections being free and fair". Following the poll, the head of the SADC mission, Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, congratulated the people of Zimbabwe "for holding a peaceful, credible and well-organised election which we feel reflects the will of the people." Mbulelo Goniwe, ANC chief whip and head of the parliamentary observer team, described the election as "credible, legitimate, free and fair". The South African Observer Mission, led by Membathisi Mdladlana, said that in their view the elections "reflect the will of the people". The South African government agreed "that the outcome of the elections was a credible reflection of the will of the people of Zimbabwe".
Thus, in all three cases Mbeki insisted that 'free and fair' elections were possible, sent 'observer missions' headed by ANC apparatchiks to legitimate the outcome (no matter how outrageous the abuses), and, then had the South African government endorse the results. In this context Mbeki's promise that there is a need to create a climate "conducive to free and fair elections" next year does not inspire much confidence. The question that should be asked of Mbeki's policy is not whether his tone has changed, or if he is finally taking a 'tougher line', but whether he will finally allow Zimbabweans to have a government of their (rather than
his) own choosing. Last Friday Mugabe claimed that Mbeki had said at the recent SADC summit: "If we condemned Zimbabwe, the same methods would be used by the West against us. The view of these white people is that all leaders of liberation movement parties must be removed and replaced by puppets. What they have tried to do in Zimbabwe, Angola, South Africa and Namibia … if we allow this to happen in Zimbabwe, we would all be finished." (This is, incidentally, consistent with past on-the-record statements of Mbeki loyalists.) When asked about this by the Financial Times Mbeki replied that "[T]he point that was made was that we would not ever support any proposition about regime change. So that was not an option for us, whatever other people might think in the rest of the world." A less pejorative term for 'regime change' would be 'democracy.' And if democracy means anything at all, it is the right of a people to remove from office an unpopular and illegitimate ruling party – particularly one that has brought such ruin to a country.
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