A report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday claimed that Zimbabwe authorities have failed to take the necessary steps to ensure that the country will meet international standards for a free and fair electoral process in the general election on August 23.
The report is a result of an investigation spanning two weeks, which involved interviewing representatives from the main opposition party, election observer groups, lawyers, human rights activists and ordinary citizens. The report finds that Zimbabwe authorities have failed to ensure the basic human rights enshrined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
In the report documents various measures that Zimbabwe authorities have taken to obstruct opposition party meetings. According to a survey by the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute, the ruling party, Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), has used the police and military to ban political rallies held by opposition parties in the rural areas where most people live. ZANU-PF, on the other hand, is allowed to organize meetings and rallies without any hindrance. Furthermore, i January, the police arrested 25 members of the Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC), the largest opposition party.
The ruling ZANU-PF has also utilized the judicial system to arbitrarily detain and convict their political opponents. For example, in April this year, CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere was convicted for “publishing or communicating falsehoods.” More recently, the Zimbabwe Supreme Court disqualified former minister Savior Kasukuwere from the August presidential election.
In recent years, the Zimbabwe government has also enacted legislation to substantially restrict the rights to freedom of movement, association and assembly. In 2019, the passing of the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act granted the police power to regulate public meetings. Under the act, people have to send the police a written notice several days prior to a public meeting or demonstration. An amendment to the Private Voluntary Organization Act is set to further restrict the operation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country, especially those deemed as having political affiliations by the government.
As a result of their findings, HRW called upon Zimbabwe authorities to “end all improper and unlawful interference in the election-related activities guaranteed by domestic, regional, and international human rights law and standards.”
