The more things change in Zimbabwe, the more they stay the same.
It has been 5 years since Emmerson Mnangagwa seized power from former President Robert Mugabe, promising wholesale social and political change. Elections will be held in 2023, and Zimbabweans deserve free and fair elections. Still, there is not much cause for optimism as the environment in which Zimbabweans will vote for a new president, members of parliament, and local government representatives remain restricted. The ZANU-PF government continues to apply retrograde restrictions to silence the political opposition in an attempt to ensure it once again wins at the polls.
In Zimbabwe, the electoral commission remains one of the least trusted institutions in the country; it is heavily staffed by former military members and, historically, has never demonstrated independence from the state. With less than a year to go before the next election, the typical oppressive tactics are now well underway.
A prime example is the Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO) Amendment Bill, which would give the government power to overregulate and interfere in the governance and operations of domestic NGOs. It has been heavily criticized by civil society, both at home in Zimbabwe and globally, because it seriously threatens the right of freedom of association and will have huge implications on civic space. At its most basic, the PVO Act will unfairly target civil society organizations across Zimbabwe, a sector that has often – and bravely – stood up against human rights violations before, during and after elections.
The timing of discussions around the proposed amendments to the PVO Act is cynical. And it is clearly being done with an eye toward the 2023 election. Two of the proposed amendments stand out as particularly troublesome. They include the prohibition of civic groups from participating in so-called “political activities,” which is vaguely defined. And it also provides authorities unchecked power to designate any group as “vulnerable” to terrorism, thereby allowing their registration to be removed or their leadership replaced at any time.
The PVO Act would be weaponized to target groups working on electoral education, as well as those that focus their work on Zimbabwe’s unfair restrictions on political rallies and peaceful assemblies, political violence, and human rights violations. The amendments empower Zimbabwean authorities to effectively criminalize the work of civic activists.
Civil society organizations play a crucial role in elections by educating voters, enabling citizen registration, monitoring the conduct of the process, and observing the election itself with an eye on identifying irregularities. This is crucial work in every country, especially in an increasingly authoritarian context such as Zimbabwe, with a history of rigged elections.
What can be done?
The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) formation is a boost for the political opposition going into the 2023 election. Once again, the ZANU-PF machine is a step ahead, putting in place restrictive tools to squeeze an emboldened opposition and prevent it from having a major impact on the outcome. We are thus likely to see an increase in violence targeting political rallies held by the CCC and other opposition formations, arrests of journalists covering these rallies, and threats to civil society groups working on election-related activities.
In previous elections, the international community failed to pressure Zimbabwean authorities to enable and safeguard a proper enabling environment for voting by all parties. Zimbabwe’s relations with some western governments, including the US and the UK, are still tense; hence why President Mnangagwa has purposefully forged closer ties with authoritarian partners like Russia and China. The African Union and regional powerbroker South Africa need to press Zimbabwean leaders to forgo these unnecessary amendments to the PVO Act, which unfairly skews the election in ZANU-PF’s favor. Indeed, the PVO amendments would contravene multiple continental and regional conventions that seek to uphold electoral integrity, including the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
Looking ahead, the Zimbabwean government is very likely to increase its repression against the political opposition and civil society. To create an enabling environment for the elections, the international community – including SADC and the African Union – should act now and work to hold the Mnangagwa government accountable to its human rights obligations.
David Kode is the advocacy and campaigns lead for CIVICUS and often writes on constitutional issues, African elections, and issues of human rights and defending civic space.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Vanguard Africa, the Vanguard Africa Foundation, or its staff.