Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai rally on Jul. 29, 2013, two days before Zimbabwe’s election. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS

By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Dec 23 2013 (IPS)

Losing the Jul. 31 polls in Zimbabwe may have been a heartrending experience for the country’s former prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, but a veiled succession struggle in his own party may prove the straw that breaks his political career.

Over 100 days after the Jul. 31 elections in this southern African nation, fanatical supporters of Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) like Melford Gananda are fast withdrawing from politics."The MDC-T has not yet reached the end of the road in its life...but it has to stop the power wrangles and all the succession talk before it dislodges Mugabe." -- Claris Madhuku

But despite losing the controversial poll to long-time ruler Robert Mugabe, the MDC-Tsvangirai faction (MDC-T) leader appears determined to soldier on at the helm of the largest opposition party in the country.

“If the election was stolen, you cannot ask for leadership renewal unless you have other motivations; for somebody to ask me to abandon the responsibility and mandate l was given only two, three years ago is not only irresponsible on my part; it is a betrayal of the people’s expectations and aspirations,” Tsvangirai told journalists on Sept. 18 at his party headquarters in Harare.

Gananda, however, feels it is time Tsvangirai hands the party’s top spot to the MDC’s next generation.

“Tsvangirai has outlived his political popularity and he can’t turn back the hands of time; surely he must give way to the new crop of leaders in the party to keep it afloat,” Gananda told IPS.

“I’m one of the people who stood with Tsvangirai since 1999 when the MDC was formed and I have been hoping to see him in power for all these years, but disappointment followed disappointment as Tsvangirai fell victim to a litany of stolen polls. I can’t stick to him any longer,” said Gananda.

Independent political analyst Malvern Tigere agrees, and says the MDC-T leader has expired politically.

“The fact that the MDC-T leader has for three consecutive occasions suffered electoral defeat at the hands of a party that has been in power for more than three decades means that he [Tsvangirai] has arrived at his political expiration date and should replace himself with a new leader,” Tigere told IPS.

But MDC-T National Spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora begged to differ.

“MDC-T is the party that jolted Mugabe from political slumber and helped him realise that there were people out there who could challenge him and cause his fall from political supremacy and President Tsvangirai may be there to complete the struggle for change at the 2018 elections,” Mwonzora told IPS.

In 2000, during a period of waning popularity for Mugabe that coincided with the height of violent commercial land seizures here, the MDC triumphed in Zimbabwe’s parliamentary elections.

But in the 2002 presidential elections, Tsvangirai lost to Mugabe in a vote that was widely believed to be flawed.

Six years later, Tsvangirai won the presidential elections but could not garner enough votes to avoid a run-off marred by violence against his supporters by suspected Zanu-PF operatives. Mugabe eventually claimed unopposed victory after the MDC-T leader pulled out of the race.

A weak unity government brokered between President Mugabe and Tsvangirai followed until elections this year once again saw the MDC-T controversially losing to Mugabe.

According to Claris Madhuku, director of Platform for Youth Development, a democracy lobby group here, the MDC-T still has a future.

“Surely, the MDC-T has not yet reached the end of the road in its life, but what the party may need to do is to reposition itself in a way that would ensure it manages to unseat Mugabe strategically; it has to stop the power wrangles and all the succession talk before it dislodges Mugabe, with Tsvangirai as the face of the party,” Madhuku told IPS.

With growing calls from party subordinates for Tsvangirai to step down from the helm of MDC-T, fears abound amongst staunch supporters like Hillary Dzirutwe of Marondera in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland East Province that Tsvangirai’s departure may mark the end of the MDC-T.

“Tsvangirai’s departure any time means the party may subsequently lose the electorate’s favour,” Dzirutwe told IPS.

But political analyst Zacharia Mushawatu feels both the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) and the MDC-T are seized with the problem of personality cult, which endangers their future existence.

“The ruling Zanu-PF and the MDC-T are being eroded by the personality cult challenge in which both parties believe they cannot do without their founding fathers, resulting in the parties’ succession headaches,” Mushawatu told IPS.

But Mushawatu believes that despite controversially losing to Mugabe on several occasions, Tsvangirai remains popular with his supporters in this southern African nation.

“If Tsvangirai leaves now, his party will be torn into several factions, which may ultimately mark its eventual demise, consequently handing perpetual political hegemony to the ruling Zanu-PF,” said Mushawatu.

And in a move that would likely widen fissures in the MDC-T, Elias Mudzuri, an executive MDC-T member and parliamentarian for Harare’s Warren Park constituency, is being widely tipped as a successor to Tsvangirai.

Party insiders here say under Mudzuri’s leadership, the MDC-T wouldn’t fall apart as many have anticipated.

“Mudzuri is quite organised and methodical in his approach to politics and surely MDC-T won’t fall apart under his leadership; Mudzuri also commands respect,” said a top MDC-T official who, fearing reprisals, requested anonymity during an interview with IPS.

Mudzuri, meanwhile, has warmed to the milling succession gossip.

“We respect people’s demands; if they say let there be new party leadership, then so be it,” Mudzuri told IPS, insisting the 2016 MDC-T congress will solve the succession puzzle.

Independent political analyst Langton Maramba says changing MDC-T leadership could give give the ruling Zanu-PF more leverage against it.

“Installing a new leader for the party now against the long-time ruling Zanu-PF may be too late and may render MDC-T popularity waning at the 2018 polls here,” Maramba told IPS.

With this in mind, Maramba says the future of the opposition MDC-T hangs in the balance.

The million-dollar question, then, is can the centre hold for Zimbabwe’s main opposition party come elections in 2018, or will things fall apart before then?

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will be inaugurated for another five-year term as president. He is pictured here at the SADC heads of state summit in Malawi on Aug. 17 where he was given a standing ovation. Credit: Kervin Victor/IPS

By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Aug 22 2013 (IPS)

Robert Mugabe will be inaugurated on Thursday, Aug. 22, to serve yet another five-year term as Zimbabwe’s president after holding the post for the last 33 years. And he does so as analysts here raise concerns that a recent High Court ruling recommending the arrest of outgoing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s lawyers on contempt of court charges could be the start of political oppression.

“The [Aug. 20] order by High Court judge Chinembiri Bhunu to arrest Tsvangirai’s lawyers may be a sign of more impending arrests as the ruling party tries to tighten its political grip here through silencing the voices of opposition political parties,” independent political analyst Masimba Kuchera told IPS.

Tsvangirai’s lawyers, Lewis Uriri, Alec Muchadehama and Tarisai Mutangi, filed a Constitutional Court application on his behalf seeking to nullify Zimbabwe’s Jul. 31 polls, saying it did not meet the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) minimum standards for a fair vote. They argued that the election was conducted without media and security sector reforms, and that widespread vote rigging had occurred.“SADC failed Zimbabweans and set a wrong precedent for democratic elections here." -- Thabani Nyoni, spokesperson for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition

Tsvangirai also filed two urgent petitions with the Zimbabwe High Court to access the election results to use as evidence in his Constitutional Court challenge. He is alleged to have questioned the integrity of the judiciary in these petitions.

The High Court did not rule immediately on the matter and on Aug. 16, a day before the Constitutional Court hearing, Tsvangirai withdrew his challenge as he felt he would not receive a fair hearing without the requested voting material.

However, on Aug. 20 the Constitutional Court proceeded with its ruling, saying constitutionally there was no legal tenet to allow withdrawal of the case.

And also on Aug. 20, Bhunu ruled against the two petitions filed by Tsvangirai to access the election records, and recommended the arrest of the outgoing prime minister’s lawyers.

However, Douglas Mwonzora, spokesperson for Tsvangirai’s party, the Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T), told IPS they were not surprised by the Constitutional Court ruling and were now exploring other political means to object to the election outcome.

“Although we sought to withdraw our election challenge, the court could not allow us to do so. We are not surprised by this ruling because we saw it coming after we were denied access to voting material used on election day, which we wanted to use as evidence to prove our case of massive vote rigging by [Zimbabwe Africa National Union-Patriotic Front] Zanu-PF,” Mwonzora told IPS.

Owen Dliwayo, programme officer for the Youth Dialogue Action Network, a local democracy lobby group, said the Constitutional Court ruling was a desperate ploy to legitimise Mugabe’s disputed electoral victory.

“The court just proceeded with Tsvangirai’s case as a way of legitimising the veteran ruler’s disputed re-election. If the MDC-T had been allowed to withdraw [its case], Mugabe could have faced a legitimacy crisis in the southern African region,” Dliwayo told IPS.

Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher for the Africa division, Dewa Mavhinga, said the Constitutional Court ruling means that the MDC-T will have to raise their grievance with regional bodies.

“The court ruling leaves the MDC-T leader with options to pursue regional and international legal remedies, including with the [African Union’s] African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” Mavhinga told IPS.

However, the MDC-T may not have any success with SADC. Mugabe’s victory was legitimised at the SADC heads of state summit in Malawi on Aug. 17 and 18. Mugabe had been welcomed by loud cheering and two standing ovations.

Current SADC chair, Malawian President Joyce Banda congratulated Mugabe on his country’s peaceful elections and pledged the organisation’s complete support. At the summit, Mugabe was appointed deputy president, and the next summit chair, of the regional body.

“Clearly, the MDC-T may be fighting a losing battle. Mugabe now clearly heads SADC considering his political seniority to Banda, who may be soon taking instructions from the aged veteran politician. This puts the MDC-T in a difficult position,” independent political analyst Malvern Tigere told IPS.

Meanwhile, pro-democracy activists say they are disturbed by SADC’s endorsement of the election.

“SADC failed Zimbabweans and set a wrong precedent for democratic elections here, which kills people’s hopes of changing things through an electoral process,” Thabani Nyoni, spokesperson for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, an amalgamation of 70 rights groups here, told IPS.

Claris Madhuku, director for Platform for Youth Development, a democracy lobby group here, told IPS: “Now Mugabe has been legitimised by both SADC and the Constitutional Court here. He will become more confident and will be more stubborn … on the basis that he has been given legitimacy.”

It paves the way for Mugabe to be sworn into office on Thursday, which has been declared a public holiday here.

Political and economic analysts say that a new government under the Movement for Democratic Change led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC-T) is the best solution for Zimbabwe’s economic future. Credit: Trevor Davies/IPS

By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Aug 1 2013 (IPS)

Zimbabwean analysts say that it will be historical if President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled this country for 33 years, loses the country’s presidential election to his long-time rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and relinquishes power.

A day before the election, Mugabe had told reporters at State House that if he loses he would concede defeat.

On Wednesday, Jul. 31, Zimbabweans in Harare, the capital, woke up at midnight eager to cast their ballots in the general election. In most towns across Zimbabwe, voters began queuing very early on Wednesday morning, enduring the chilly weather in order to vote.

Many, like 32-year-old Loveness Mbiza, a fruit and vegetable vendor from Harare’s Machipisa high-density suburb, feel this election will bring an improved economic environment.“There has never been such voting excitement here save perhaps for 1980 at independence and this means something much bigger is set to happen here and people want development to kick-start under a new regime.” -- voter and local businessman Jabulani Gumbo

“I have lived under constant surveillance from brutal police in Mugabe’s government who have always chased me from one point to the other, often accusing me of selling my wares at undesignated points in the city, but without providing me with alternatives,” Mbiza told IPS.

“I woke up soon after midnight to be on the queue here so that I could cast my vote early and go back to attend to my vending business. My wish is to see my vote being respected because I know most people are suffering just like me and wish to see President Mugabe shown the door when the results are announced,” added Mbiza.

But Claris Madhuku, a political analyst and director for Platform for Youth Development, a democracy lobby group in Zimbabwe, told IPS that voters should not put their full trust in the new political dispensation that may emerge after this election.

“There is excessive excitement from voters and too much optimism is being invested in a [Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai] MDC-T government that they think will be born out of the elections. But they should allow any dispensation to settle down and gradually manoeuvre its way to rescue this country from its long economic crisis,” Madhuku said.

Zimbabwe is still recovering from an economic meltdown, based largely on Mugabe’s controversial policies. There have also been allegations of widespread corruption and stealing from the state’s coffers by Mugabe and other high-ranking officials within his party.

Between 2003 and 2009, this southern African nation’s year on year inflation was reported as 231 percent. According to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, 85 companies closed down in Harare last year and over 100 shut down in Bulawayo between 2009 and 2013. Unemployment is high, with most people being forced to work in the informal sector.

Independent political analyst Rashwit Mkundu said he foresees the country becoming an economic “powerhouse” under Tsvangarai’s leadership, if he wins this election.

“There is certainly going to be rapid economic recovery in Zimbabwe if Tsvangirai is announced winner of this election. Zimbabwe will fast emerge as an economic powerhouse of the rest of the African continent, possibly overtaking South Africa in terms of economic growth,” Mkundu told IPS.

Mugabe and some of his party hardliners in Zimbabwe Africa National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu–PF) are under economic sanctions from Western nations for violating human rights. However, in March the European Union suspended most of its sanctions, though Mugabe and a number of his followers remain on the list.

Analysts think this election could be the Zanu-PF leader’s last race before Mugabe disappears from the political scene, as he turns 90 years old in six months’ time.

Chairperson for the Council for Social Workers in Zimbabwe, Philip Bohwasi, told IPS that a victory by Tsvangirai would result in a stampede of investors to the country. A number pulled out after Mugabe implemented the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act of 2007. It states that foreign-owned companies are required to sell a 51 percent stake to locals to stimulate economic growth.

“Tsvangirai warms up very well to nations from the developed world from which most investors come. His victory in this election will spark a scramble for investment chances from investors abroad eager to put their investments here,” Bohwasi told IPS.

But Masimba Kuchera, an independent media analyst in Harare, told IPS that ordinary people should be careful not to build their hopes on impulsive policies pencilled in political party manifestos.

“Yes, I know most people who have voted in this election anticipate drastic changes from the MDC-T, which they widely believe will massively ride to victory when election results are announced. But what has convinced them to so overwhelmingly rally behind MDC-T are mere policies penned in the party’s campaign manifesto, which may be an exaggerated piece of paper designed to lure voters,” Kuchera said.

Although the Zanu-PF government, which entered a coalition arrangement with the two formations of the MDC, stands widely accused of being the architect of the country’s economic crisis, many, like 25-year-old Donemore Dziva, a jobless college graduate with a diploma in marketing, hopes for a Zanu-PF victory.

“I didn’t wake up so early in the morning to come and waste my vote on MDC-T because I didn’t see anything worthwhile it did for young jobless people like me during its tenure in the coalition government. I just hope we shall have President Mugabe back when the results shall be announced and let him finish the economic empowerment of locals here,” Dziva told IPS.

Other political analysts here say any win by Mugabe in this election would spell disaster for Zimbabwe.

“Any win that favours Mugabe in this election will be contestable and there is really nothing new that Mugabe has in store to warrant a justified return to the number one job in the land. His return will only further deepen the country’s economic crisis considering that Mugabe has not been successful in mending his dented relations with the rich European nations,” an independent political analyst, Blessing Vava, told IPS.

Harare businessman and owner of a fleet of trucks, Jabulani Gumbo, 56, thinks the large voter turnout is a signal of future great economic strides for Zimbabwe.

“There has never been such voting excitement here, save perhaps for 1980 at independence, and this means something much bigger is set to happen here. People want development to kick-start under a new regime,” Gumbo told IPS. There are no official figures yet available about the number of Zimbabweans who cast their ballots on Wednesday. Initial reports, however, show that the vote was largely a peaceful one.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told an estimated crowd of 40,000 supporters at a rally in Harare’s Freedom Square on Jul. 29 that his party had not being able to verify the names on the voters’ roll. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS

By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Jul 31 2013 (IPS)

“We definitely can’t miss this grand chance to cast our vote. It’s like Zimbabwe is just gaining independence; the excitement to see a new government coming into power is just incredible and we hope we get a new Zimbabwe rolling again,” 38-year-old Mildred Saungweme from Harare’s Hatfield suburb, told IPS.

On Wednesday, Jul. 31, the country is set to choose a president. It will be the third time that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T), has challenged President Robert Mugabe for power. Mugabe, leader of the Zimbabwe Africa National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu–PF), has been in office for 33 years.

However, ahead of Wednesday’s vote, election observers from the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had doubts whether the poll would be credible.

“I’m worried [that the] voters’ current excitement may be hampered by certain forces determined to steal this election,” an AU observer speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS.“The risk of escalating violence and other human rights abuses after the election results are announced remains high because the infrastructure of violence remains intact." -- Human Rights Watch director for Southern Africa, Tiseke Kasambala

Hours before polling stations across this southern African nation opened at 5am, voters were still struggling to find out where they could verify their names on the electoral roll.

Those who knew where they would vote, like 73-year-old Tambudzai Gavi from Harare’s Mabvuku suburb, said they were willing to wait overnight in queues in order to cast their ballots.

“We have had one party, Zanu–PF, which has failed to deliver its promises for 33 years. I will sleep in the queue to make sure nobody will have an excuse to deny me the chance to cast my vote,” Gavi told IPS. Results are expected no later than Aug. 5.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has been criticised by political parties and civil society organisations for failing to make the electoral roll available before the polls. There are an estimated 6.4 million registered voters, but concerns have been raised about the number of dead still on the roll.

According to the Electoral Act, the ZEC is required to provide all contesting political parties and observers who request it either a printed or electronic copy of the electoral roll.

“We wonder how names on the voters’ roll are going to be verified if the electronic voters roll has still not been made public,” Tawanda Chimhini, director of Elections Resource Centre, an independent elections organisation in Zimbabwe, told IPS.

Tsvangirai told an estimated crowd of 40,000 supporters at a rally in Harare’s Freedom Square on Jul. 29 that his party had not being able to verify the names on the voters’ roll. “About a day before the elections, ZEC has not presented us with the electronic voters’ roll, something which renders questionable its credibility to run this election,” Tsvangirai said.

International rights group Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) Africa director, Daniel Bekele, told IPS that as legal and institutional reforms, including those to reform the security sector and the ZEC, had not been implemented, it did not create a space for free and fair elections.

“In spite of the difficult human rights environment, the elections are going ahead as a critical test both for Zimbabwe and the regional observers, SADC and AU in particular, to demonstrate genuine commitment to reflect the will of Zimbabwean people,” Bekele said.

“If the elections are rigged, Zimbabwe risks plunging into a complicated political crisis and the risk of violence and other human rights abuses is high,” added Bekele.

Already, ahead of the election there have been reports of violence, abductions and intimidation. IPS reported claims that local traditional leaders were cautioning villagers against voting for the MDC-T to avoid post-election violence by Zanu-PF. There were also reports of suspected Zanu-PF officials seizing voters’ identity cards.

On Jul. 30 reports by local media stated that riot police had been deployed to potential trouble areas in central Zimbabwe.

HRW’s director for Southern Africa, Tiseke Kasambala, told IPS that it would be difficult for voters to cast their ballots freely in light of these abuses.

“Zimbabwe’s unity government, consisting of the former ruling Zanu-PF and the two MDC factions, has failed to implement legal and institutional reforms to address various political, institutional and human rights issues ahead of elections,” Kasambala said.

She said that although the new Zimbabwean constitution, which was signed into law in May, had implemented some reforms; these were insufficient to level the political playing field as there has been no repeal or amendment of repressive legislation.

The country still needs to amend repressive laws like the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which stipulates that journalists should register annually with the Zimbabwe Media and Information Commission, and the Public Order and Security Act, which criminalises the reporting of falsehoods and leaves journalists open to litigation.

“The risk of escalating violence and other human rights abuses after the election results are announced remains high because the infrastructure of violence remains intact, and there has been no accountability for previous human rights abuses, including the 2008 political violence,” added Kasambala.

In 2008, following the disputed election that saw Mugabe hold on to power, violence erupted across the country. In a 2011 report titled Perpetual Fear: Impunity and Cycles of Violence in Zimbabwe, HRW stated that Zanu-PF had been responsible for abuses that led to the deaths of 200 people, and the beating and torture of 5,000 more.

Despite this, MDC-T supporters were excited ahead of the vote.

“We know Tsvangirai is going to win this election and form a new democratic government to relegate President Robert Mugabe to the dustbin of history,” 31-year-old Patricia Hove, a staunch MDC-T supporter, told IPS.

However, most Zanu-PF hardliners claim that a MDC-T victory means the country runs the risk of falling into an era of neo-colonialism.

“If MDC-T wins this election, we run the risk of falling into the hands of an indirect leadership of Britain again because this party is a puppet of Britain and America, countries which feed it money to garner support from ordinary Zimbabweans,” Goodson Nguni, a well know Zanu-PF leader, told IPS.

Meanwhile, 36-year-old unemployed civil engineer Nigel Samuriwo was looking forward to casting his vote. Samuriwo graduated 13 years ago, but he has not been able to find a job since.

“I’m so excited about this election. I’m so optimistic it will bring change in my life and a job I have never had under Mugabe’s government, which sparked the closure of several companies,” Samuriwo told IPS.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at a party rally on Jul. 29, 2013, two days before Zimbabwe’s election. Economists say that it does not matter who wins the country’s Jul. 31 election as none of the political parties may be able to reverse the country’s economic meltdown. Courtesy: Jeffrey Moyo

By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Jul 30 2013 (IPS)

At a recent campaign rally in Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai pledged to establish rural-based companies to create employment. It was a promise that appealed to 34-year-old sociologist Agnes Ngwenya who graduated from the University of Zimbabwe 10 years ago, but has not yet found work.

She broke into song and ecstatic ululation, as she jumped and gyrated with optimism, waving a red flag – a distinctive trademark of the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T).

MDC–T promises to create a 100-billion-dollar economy by 2018, anchored by foreign direct investment. Meanwhile the splinter MDC–Ncube, led by Professor Welshman Ncube, pins its campaign on devolution, or decentralising governance.

“Believing that the Zimbabwe Africa National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu–PF) 2013 campaign manifesto will one day transform the lives of many suffering Zimbabweans after the party’s three decades in power is a definite impossibility and absolutely untrue,” Ngwenya tells IPS.“We strongly believe that we no longer need a government of national unity, because it hampers our economic growth." -- Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Davison Norupiri

Zimbabweans go to the polls on Wednesday Jul. 31, amid reports of intimidation, threats of violence and abductions. But economists here say that it does not matter whether Tsvangirai’s MDC–T or President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu–PF wins the election, neither will be able to reverse Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown anytime soon.

Economist Kingston Nyakurukwa says that both parties have unrealistic plans for solving Zimbabwe’s economic problems.

“While I agree that MDC–T seems to have a better plan to rescue the country from a decade-long economic crisis, generally manifestos pencilled by the parties set to lock horns at this years’ elections are unrealistic, exaggerated and reflect the ambitiousness of the parties racing to govern this country rather than the pragmatic means to arrest the country’s economic woes,” Nyakurukwa tells IPS.

Between 2003 and 2009, this Southern African nation’s year on year inflation was reported as 231 percent. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe was forced to issue a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note and eventually the central bank stopped printing money in 2009, opting to adopt a multi-currency regime. Not only that, unemployment is ridiculously high. A 2009 report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that the country’s unemployment rate was 94 percent. A great majority now work in the informal sector.

Much of the country’s economic meltdown has been blamed on Mugabe’s policies, which include a controversial land reform programme that began in 2000 and saw over 300,000 people forcefully occupy land previously owned by an estimated 4,000 white commercial farmers.

Another controversial policy area is foreign investment.

Though for 21-year-old Evelyn Chatsi from Mwenezi district, about 144km southwest of Zimbabwe’s oldest town of Masvingo, it is not controversial at all. She feels it is a solution for her improved economic future.

“I know Zanu–PF will not betray young people. The party crafted the indigenisation policy to empower youths like us and come Jul. 31, our lives will be changed, with President Robert Mugabe back at the helm of leadership,” Chatsi tells IPS.

Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai rally on Jul. 29, 2013, two days before Zimbabwe’s election. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS

Under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act of 2007, foreign-owned companies are required to sell a 51 percent stake to locals to stimulate economic growth.

But some financers fear losing their investments through this policy. Independent economic analyst John Robertson says it has scared away investors and led to several companies closing down after being taken over by locals.

“With indigenisation, we have attracted very little new investments here and caused closure of several companies that offered employment to many people here,” Robertson tells IPS.

According to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, 85 companies closed down in Harare last year and over 100 shut down in Bulawayo between 2009 and 2013.

Araj Mouri, a Zimbabwean-based Indian businessman, tells IPS: “We definitely can’t trust a party whose aim is to have its hands on our investments without bringing its own capital. We are therefore watching this election drama with scepticism.”

Claris Madhuku, director of Platform for Youth Development, a democracy lobby group, agrees that Zanu–PF’s indigenisation and economic empowerment policy has failed and says that is has caused “mayhem in the country, with many people linked to it scrambling to grab foreign-owned companies.”

“While MDC-T’s manifesto is reasonable, [it is] too ambitious, which may also be difficult to implement. The political parties want power; they don’t mean what they say,” he tells IPS.

Charles Msipa, president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industry, says Zimbabwe really needs a government with a consistent policy framework that addresses the country’s economic opportunities and challenges.

“But whether that policy environment is delivered by a coalition or single-party government, it’s for the electorate to decide,” Msipa tells IPS.

However, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Davison Norupiri says another coalition government would stifle economic growth. After the violence that followed Zimbabwe’s disputed 2008 election, Zanu–PF and MDC–T signed a pact to form a government of national unity with elections this year.

“We strongly believe that we no longer need a government of national unity, because it hampers our economic growth. With our [unity government] here, we haven’t moved much in terms of economic development,” Norupiri tells IPS.

Mike Milton, who runs a plastics manufacturing company in Harare, is also not sure that either party has a concrete solution to save the economy.

“Both MDC-T and Zanu-PF election manifestos lack pragmatic means to arrest the country’s decade long economic woes. They are not clear on how they aim to practically restore investor confidence,” Milton tells IPS.

“But if we have another disputed election, another coalition government may be unwelcome, which will throw this country into a serious and irretrievable economic morass,” he says.

But Prosper Chitambara, an economist with the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute Zimbabwe, an independent economic research think tank, says he doubts that Zanu–PF’s manifesto would yield any positive changes if the party won the elections.

“In its manifesto, Zanu-PF carries the same old story and I don’t think they will change the way they have been doing things for the past [three decades] even if they may win this election. What they are saying in their campaign manifesto only helps to weaken the value of the national assets and in this case, Zanu-PF’s manifesto is more ambitious than the MDC-T one,” Chitambara tells IPS.

“But I think under an MDC government, we shall see numerous positive transformations and developments hence people have so much expectations,” says Chitambara.

An African Union election observer speaking to IPS in Harare on condition of anonymity says political uncertainty has been the biggest factor in crippling Zimbabwe’s bid to grow its economy.

Youths from Movement for Democratic Change led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC-T) in Zimbabwe are vocal at the party's rallies but can they get younger voices into the legislature? Trevor Davies/IPS

By Ignatius Banda
BULAWAYO , Apr 30 2013 (IPS)

As Zimbabwe’s young politicians increase their demands to be allowed to play a greater role in the running of the country, analysts say that this could signal a change in youth voter apathy in the upcoming elections.   

“Young people are beginning to see politics differently,” Tinaye Juru, a political analyst working in Bulawayo, told IPS.

“We are seeing a shift from accepting being called tomorrow’s leaders to (having the youth) ask ‘Why wait till tomorrow, when we can do this today?’” Juru said.

Elections in this southern African nation are expected sometime after Jun. 29 when the parliament’s term ends.

And many feel this election could be an opportunity for young people to enter active politics as legislators – that is if their political parties yield to growing demands to include them more actively.

Historically, young politicians here have been confined to campaigning for senior party officials.

Youth participation in Zimbabwe’s elections is low, according to the international rights and democracy NGO Freedom House. A June 2012 report by the organisation, titled “Change and ‘New’ Politics in Zimbabwe”, noted that there are “disproportionately low levels of voter registration in the two age categories of 18 to 25 years and 26 to 35 years old.”

In a country where, according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, up to 60 percent of the population is under 35, this is a matter of great concern.

There has already been an outcry within the Movement for Democratic Change led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC-T) against senior party officials who have not performed well. The party’s Youth Assembly, its youth wing, has demanded that the MDC-T hold its own primary elections to select candidates to contest seats for parliament in the upcoming elections.

Previously, sitting candidates within the party did not face any internal contest for their seats in the legislature and simply sought re-election. But the MDC-T Youth Assembly has said that the youth could do a better job for the party and their country and suggested a youth quota for parliament.

Clifford Hlatshwayo, the MDC-T Youth Assembly national secretary for information, told IPS: “We want seats set aside for youths. This is the only way this will prepare us (young people) for the future if we are to rule this country.”

The same situation exists within the MDC led by Welshman Ncube, a breakaway faction of the original MDC. Aspiring candidates in its youth league ranks are being frustrated by officials who have dismissed them as “nuisances”, one youth wing member told IPS on the condition of anonymity.

“We were asked, along with other aspiring candidates, by the party to submit our nomination papers for the primaries. But, curiously, our submission papers went missing,” he said.

While on the other hand, President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), has been accused of suppressing the younger generation and preventing them from rising within the party’s ranks.

A senior Zanu-PF youth league official in Bulawayo, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told IPS that it was tough to break through the party’s glass ceiling as those who did not fight in the war of liberation were not highly rated by the party’s senior members. Between 1964 and 1979 Zimbabweans fought for independent rule from the then Rhodesian government of Ian Smith.

“There are still old people in the party who think that if you challenge them in the primary elections, you are undermining them,” he said.

“In the end, we just sit back and do our best to campaign for the party. Even the younger MPs in the party do not take kindly to criticism and are quick to claim we are (acting on behalf of) one faction or another (when we oppose them), and it’s become something that we do not discuss.”

Philemon Ncube, a priest and political analyst in Bulawayo, told IPS that political parties needed to do more to ensure that the youth were able to lead. “No mechanisms have been put in place by all political parties to encourage leadership renewal and this will make it difficult for youths to break into the ranks.”

But not all young people have welcomed the idea of being governed by their peers.

“Young people have seen the benefits of public office from parliamentarians who are always demanding ridiculous perks from the (treasury),” Nathan Molife, a 22-year-old student at the National University of Science and Technology, told IPS.

“Their motives have become marred by our politics where many believe no politician should be poor, never mind the level of poverty the people live in. Maybe I will vote for a younger MP, maybe I won’t. I don’t know,” Molife said, showing mistrust in politicians in general.

According to a 2012 survey by Afrobarometer, an African research organisation, over the years a suspicion for politicians has become the major reason for voter apathy in Zimbabwe.

According to the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, a mere 18 percent of young people of voting age have completed the registration process.

And only an estimated 43 percent of registered young people voted in the disputed March 2008 election. According to international rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, Mugabe had perpetrated widespread violence against political opponents in the run-up to and after the country’s 2008 presidential elections. Mugabe was declared winner.

Analysts said, however, that if young voters remained apathetic this year, it could set back attempts to actively engage the youth in the democratic process as candidates.

“It would be fairly easy for young people to vote for one of their own, but if these same people do not register to exercise their (right to vote), it is difficult to see how the ambitions of creating a new breed of legislators will be realised,” Juru said.

Tymon Ndlovu of the National Youth Development Trust, an NGO based in Bulawayo, told IPS that it was of concern that in the excitement to take up positions as legislators, female faces are missing.

“Local politics remains male-dominated despite all the talk about equal representation. But I believe these elections would be an opportunity to see aspiring young female politicians coming out. But it’s obvious this is not happening,” he said.

*This story was produced in conjunction with the Heinrich Böll Foundation and appears in their Perspectives report.