Human rights lawyers, civil society hail Mnangagwa

HUMAN rights lawyers and civil society organisations have commended President Emmerson Mnangagwa for ratifying the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Good Governance during his recent visit to Rwanda.

The organisations urged government to quickly move on to ratify, domesticate and implement its provisions ahead of the 2018 elections.

President Mnangagwa signed the charter during the African Union Extraordinary Session of Heads of State and Government held in Kigali, Rwanda recently.

The African Charter on Democracy Elections and Governance, which came into force in February 2012, seeks to promote adherence by African states to the universal values and principles of democracy and respect for human rights premised upon the supremacy of the constitution and respect for the rule of law.

In a statement yesterday, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) and the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) – a network of 30 non-governmental organisations – said they welcome the decision by President Mnangagwa to sign the charter.

They urged the government to quickly ratify, domesticate and implement its provisions ahead of the 2018 elections.

"ZLHR and ZESN laud President Mnangagwa for signing the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Good Governance, which is one of the key instruments that will advance democracy, peace and security in Zimbabwe, the region, and the continent as a whole.

Considering Zimbabwe's well documented history of electoral irregularities such as hate language, violence and intimidation of voters amongst others, the decision to sign the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, is a progressive step to take to promote democracy in Zimbabwe," read the statement.

"As organisations that are deeply committed to fostering a culture of human rights and promoting democratic elections in Zimbabwe, ZESN and ZLHR urge the government to move beyond just signing the African Charter on Democracy Elections and Governance but to ratify and domesticate its provisions."

The organisations said the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance can only be meaningful in the running of elections in Zimbabwe if the government ratifies and domesticates it as the country prepares for elections.

The ZHLR and the ZESN urged Government to create a conducive electoral environment that guarantees the respect and enjoyment of fundamental freedoms ahead of elections.

"We urge the government to prioritise the alignment of electoral related laws particularly the Electoral Act with the Constitution and ensure adherence to principles of constitutionalism, put in place mechanisms and legal reforms to address issues of voter intimidation, violence and ensure that political party candidates and supporters campaign and participate in all electoral processes freely," read the statement.

They urged Government to ensure that the right to vote for all citizens is upheld as guaranteed in Section 67 of the Constitution and several regional instruments of which it is a state party.

Soon after ratifying the Charter, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was now a progressive member of the AU.

"Beyond that as Zimbabwe we have signed the AU Charter on the conduct of democratic elections and guidelines and lastly, we signed another protocol relating to the Pan African Parliament – most member states of the AU have done so and for some reason Zimbabwe had not done so. So we have put those things behind us and we are now a progressive member of the AU," he said.