But certain sections of the NGO community said a referendum is not just an event but a process, therefore periods before, during and after the event itself should be considered in formulating a final view.
In a preliminary report the head of the SADC observer mission and Tanzanian Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Membe said: “The mission has come to the conclusion that although some of the concerns raised are pertinent they are nevertheless not of such magnitude to affect the credibility of the overall referendum.
“And I would therefore like to take this opportunity to encourage all the political parties and the people of Zimbabwe to encourage peace and stability as we are waiting for the white smoke.”
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network , which deployed about 600 observers across the country, said the voting day was generally peaceful and smooth with very few recorded incidents of violations but that during the run-up to the referendum there was a disturbing pattern of intimidation against civic organizations involved in citizen election observation.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum also said that while the day of the referendum may have been largely peaceful, the process prior and after the vote casting should also be taken into account as Zimbabweans prepare for crucial elections following the referendum results.
A day after the referendum police raided the residence of Thabani Mpofu, the Principal Director for Research and Development in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Office and also raided the MDC-T offices in Harare. Two other MDC-T officers were arrested, plus rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who was detained when she went to offer legal assistance to the MDC-T officials.
The Zimbabwe NGO Forum, which is made up of several NGOs in Zimbabwe, said: “All these sad developments are happening while the SADC Organ Troika Foreign Minister is in the country. This also comes as sad development to what some have been calling a successful referendum so far. For instance Bruce Wharton the USA ambassador had this to say on 16 March:
‘I was really impressed by the well-managed process I saw at all of the voting places I visited today. Made it to about 12 polling places, in rural, peri-urban, wealthy suburbs, working-class suburbs, downtown, tents, schools, and community centres.
‘Even with a very short time to prepare, the process appeared to work very well. It will be interesting to see what percentage of Zimbabweans chose to vote, and I am sure there are some lessons learned today, but from my perspective, the process worked well. I was especially impressed by the professionalism I saw all day from ZEC officials, polling officers, ZRP officers, and observers. These four groups made a great team at every polling station I visited’.
The NGO Forum said in light of these mixed signals, the jury is still out on whether the minimum threshold for a peaceful and credible referendum has been met.
Some observers said it would appear the US Embassy may be trying to put a positive spin on the referendum, despite the state-sponsored crackdown that followed.
Speaking about the arrests Sharon Hudson-Dean, the US embassy spokesperson, told SW Radio Africa: “I don’t have a specific comment on that right now, we are following it very closely.
“Civic groups and political parties should be able to operate freely within the law especially during this election season. So we are following it closely. I will let you know if we have a comment later.”By Violet Gonda. Nehanda radio
18 March 2013
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