Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe: Dissent and repression (2000-2007) (continued)

The run up to the election was characterised by intensified violence that claimed 34 victims and intimidation and torture of MDC members were reported; approximately 18 000 people experienced various violations of their human rights (Masunungure 2004, 177-178; Brown & Saunders 2007, 1290). Masunungure (2004, 178) observes: "The repression was methodical and systematic". Irregularities of various kinds that cast serious doubts about the fairness of the process, though no serious incidents were reported on polling day itself (see 2000 General Elections for details). ZANU PF narrowly won the parliamentary elections on 24-25 June 2000 (2000 House of Assembly national election results). With only 62 of the 120 elective seats and 48.10% of the votes cast, ZANU PF was faced for the first time with a sizeable opposition (its narrow majority was bolstered by the Presidential appointment of 20 MPs and the loyalty of the chiefs in the House to ZANU-PF ). The MDC secured 46.72% of the votes, primarily in urban constituencies, and won 57 of 120 elected seats in the National Assembly. Critically, it meant that ZANU-PF no longer had a large enough majority to unilaterally alter the constitution; the MDC also easy qualified for state funding, which strengthened its position immensely (Masunungure 2004, 181).

In January 2002 two pieces of legislation were pushed through Parliament that imposed severe restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly: The Public Order and Security Bill and the General Law Amendment Bill. The Public Order and Security Act criminalized criticism of the President and established that any communication or publication of a statement deemed prejudicial to the state could be banned and its author prosecuted (Public Order and Security Act 2002, 15, 16). The Zimbabwean police were authorised to arrest anyone at political meetings who failed to produce an identity document on demand (Public Order and Security Act 2002, 32). Amendments to the Electoral Act effectively disenfranchised 2-3 million Zimbabweans living abroad (General Laws Amendment Act 2002, 34). Campaign materials such as bills, posters and pamphlets required consent from the relevant authorities before they could be distributed and election observers became subject to accreditation (General Laws Amendment Act 2002, 116A, 14B). The subsequent Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (2002, 101) barred foreign journalists from working in the country and local journalists were subjected to licensing. By mid-2002 10 journalists had been detained and remaining foreign journalists deported while independent newspapers such as the Daily News and the Tribune were forced to close (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1292).

In February 2002 a controversial video was shown on television in Australia that was construed by the government to prove that Tsvangirai was plotting to assassinate Mugabe and he was charged with treason (ICG 2004, 97). Meanwhile conflict between the government and the European Union (EU) led to the withdrawal of EU observers and the EU imposed limited sanctions on senior officials and government members (ICG 2004, 97)-98. The 2002 Presidential election was highly contested and extremely violent. The Human Rights NGO Forum (2003) reported that between 1 January and 14 April 2002, 54 deaths occurred from politically motivated violence. Other acts of violence reported included 945 cases of torture, 214 kidnappings, 229 cases of intimidation or threats, 143 cases of unlawful detention, 29 disappearances, 99 cases of unlawful arrests, five cases of rape, 48 school closures and about 1 000 confiscations of identity documents (see also Masunungure 2004, 182-183). The reports also noted the establishment of camps where militia youths supporting the ruling party were massed. These youths were deployed to intimidate the voters and observers were detained in the camps (Human Rights NGO Forum 2003). Violence was primarily the work of the war veterans, the youth brigades, the police and the army; nor did these acts of violence cease after the elections (Masunungure 2004, 177-178, 186; Brown & Saunders 2007, 1290).

The figures for election results provided by Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network observers, the Electoral Supervisory Commission and those announced by the Registrar-General's Office (for these see 2002 Presidential election results) did not tally, and fraud was widely suspected. The Solidarity Peace Trust (2005) observed, "The most striking outcome of the 39 original petitions [involving electoral fraud in 2000] is that... not one case was ever fully resolved by the judiciary" (cases brought in 2002 by the MDC were still pending in April 2005). According to the Registrar General's Office Mugabe obtained 56.06% of the vote to Tsvangirai's 42.10%, the rest being shared amongst three other candidates. Tsvangirai rejected the election results and labeled Mugabe's win illegitimate. The election violence and rigging, coming on top of the chaos unleashed by land reform, resulted in Zimbabwe being suspended from the Commonwealth in September 2002 and Zimbabwe subsequently withdrew from the body in December 2003 (ICG 2004, 100).

The deteriorating economic situation and the shortage of staple foods as a result of land redistribution was not ameliorated and public sentiment was further outraged when in February 2003 it emerged that the bulk of the land earmarked for redistribution had been allocated to members of the ZANU-PF ruling elite; a presidential review of land reform in August 2003 (the Utete Report) indicated that only 134 000 families had been resettled on the land that had been acquired and only 5% of the poupulation had benefited from allocations by the close of 2003 (ICG 2004, 105-106, 109; Selby 2006, 294). The economic meltdown led to declining state revenue so that real government expenditure on social services declined rapidly and school enrolment and the quality of health services deteriorated markedly, while HIV/AIDS prevalence continued to rise reaching 30% of the adult population in mid-2003 (Esterhuysen 2004; Encyclopedia of the Nations 2007). Life expectancy declined from 61 years in 1991 to 36 years in 2004 (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1291).

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