Zimbabwe facing true test of democracy
With less than a month to go until the Presidential and Parliamentary elections, all eyes are on Zimbabwe. The elections are an opportunity to test whether the country has become truly democratic since the fall of Mugabe in 2017.
On the face of it, some are drawing confidence from the fact that, for the first time, there is an electronic roll of voters that can be verified. But the roll has only just been made available for scrutiny, meaning we are a bit more sceptical. Especially as its integrity has been called into question due to some notable abnormalities.
Our other concern is that there is really no credible opposition. The MDC alliance has been fraught with internal bickering since the death of Tsvangirai and is now failing to present a united front – in some constituencies they are putting forward multiple candidates from different groups in the alliance, while in other constituencies they are fielding no candidates at all. This significantly weakens their chances of removing the Zanu-PF’s grip on power.
We are aware that there are many with a more positive view of the election and Zimbabwe moving forward, however we believe that progress may continue to be painstakingly slow to reach any meaningful outcome to give foreign investors the confidence to invest. Our sceptic view prevails.
Stefano Marani, APQ Global IAC Member