Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated on Wednesday that the Zimbabwe army commander’s support for the country’s ruling party threatens the integrity of the country’s future elections as well as the rights of voters participating in them.

The rights group called on the Zimbabwe government to end the military’s involvement in partisan politics, urging authorities to implement reforms that ensure state security forces do not threaten future elections. The organization emphasized that Zimbabwe is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects citizens’ right to vote “by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors.”

HRW’s Africa Advocacy Director Allan Ngari stated:

The Zimbabwe military commander’s open endorsement of the ruling party not only threatens the fairness of elections but opens the door for security force abuses against voters, the opposition [] and civil society organizations … Zimbabwe’s security forces need to comply with the country’s laws and regulations that uphold its international human rights obligations to ensure that elections are fair and free.

The group’s statement came in response to recent remarks by Zimbabwe National Army Commander Lt. General Anselem Sanyatwe, in which the military leader stated the nation’s security services would use force to ensure citizens vote for the nation’s ruling party, ZANU-PF, and that the party would rule the country forever.

Section 208(2) of the Zimbabwe Constitution prohibits security services and their members, while exercising their duties, from acting in a partisan manner, furthering the interests of a political party, prejudicing the lawful interests of a political party or violating any individual’s fundamental rights or freedoms. Section 208(3) also states that security service members “must not be active members of office-bearers of any political party or organization.”

According to HRW, however, Zimbabwe’s security forces have routinely interfered in the nation’s politics and electoral processes in violation of individual rights. The group cited multiple incidents of political violence that have occurred during the nation’s election periods in recent decades, particularly in 2008.

In 2023, ZANU-PF won the presidency, the national assembly and the senate, with incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa maintaining his power. The results were met with international concern, however, as watchdogs and nations around the world raised doubt about the election’s legitimacy.

HRW, for instance, claimed that the country’s authorities failed to ensure a free and fair election under international standards such as the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. Amnesty International also highlighted the repression of dissent and the deterioration of the rights to freedom and expression during that election period, warning that opposition members were the main targets of repression. Similar concerns were raised last month when Zimbabwe police arrested an interim opposition leader for holding an unauthorized political gathering.