Ballot box death threats

At meetings across the nation, officials of Zimbabwe’s ruling party have warned voters how they will know who casts ballots against longtime President Robert Mugabe in Friday’s scheduled runoff election: serial numbers.

The officials tell people that the ballot number will allow the ruling party to identify who has voted for the opposition so that they can be killed later, according to people who attended meetings in three neighborhoods around Harare, the capital.

Ndaziweye, a 60-year-old domestic worker who asked to be identified only by her first name because of safety concerns, said she was forced by a group of youths to go to such a meeting of about 400 people on the outskirts of Harare on her way back from church Sunday.

“Even the ladies, even the Women’s League chairwoman, was talking about killing, saying, ‘Don’t vote for Tsvangirai or the youth will kill you. We have got strong youth and we are not joking. We are serious.’ They said, ‘This is not America,’ ” Ndaziweye recounted.

Opposition and human rights activists have also reported forced pungwes, or re-education meetings, across the nation to intimidate people into voting for the ruling ZANU-PF party through such methods as talking about ballot serial numbers. The meetings began a few weeks after the March 29 election, but have only recently been used to issue threats about the telltale runoff ballots.

A ZANU-PF official who was not in accord with the strategy confirmed that the party’s war veterans and militias were spreading fear about the serial numbers to intimidate voters. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said there were about 900 militia bases across the country, one in every voting ward.

The atmosphere at Sunday’s meeting was loud and frenzied, almost festive, Ndaziweye said, making it even more unsettling. ZANU-PF youths sang and danced furiously. People exchanged the party greeting, touching fists with each other.

“I was shocked because whenever anyone gave a speech, everyone would yell, ‘We will kill! We will kill!’ The youths were singing horrible songs and shouting.”

The short, slight woman with ancient spectacles and frayed shoes said that despite the possible consequences, she would nonetheless vote against Mugabe, if he defies international pressure and pushes ahead with the runoff vote Friday.

“I am voting for what I want, even if they kill me,” she said. “I don’t mind, as long as I vote for the person who’s going to do something so that people don’t starve. I’m voting for my grandchildren so that they can get an education.”

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, citing rising political violence by Mugabe supporters, formally withdrew from the election Tuesday, informing the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission in writing of his decision.

International leaders and bodies, including the United Nations Security Council, have praised the Movement for Democratic Change leader’s step, saying that a free and fair election is impossible at this point, given the level of intimidation by the Zimbabwean government.

Nonetheless, Mugabe, who has served as president since 1980, said at a rally in western Zimbabwe that the election must go ahead “to fulfill a legal obligation.”

At Sunday’s meeting, Ndaziweye knew she stuck out like a sore thumb. She was one of the few not wearing a ZANU-PF scarf or T-shirt, she said. When she tried to shake hands with people instead of touching fists, there was a chorus of accusations.

“The women and youth were accusing me of being MDC. They said ‘Why are you shaking hands? You don’t know our slogans!’ ”

But the most frightening moment came when the provincial chairman said voters would have to write the serial number of their ballot paper on their arm before entering the voting booth.

“When you come out, you have to show the number to your party chairman and they will write it down with your name and ID number. So after voting, they will know how you voted. If you are going to vote for Morgan, that will be the end of your life,” she said in an interview Tuesday.

“They said, ‘Even if you run away, we’ll chop the heads off whoever you leave behind at your house. We don’t care if it’s your children or your grandchildren,’ ” the mother of four said.

Tobaiwa, 33, who also asked to be identified by only his first name, has been attending meetings in a suburb south of Harare every day for two weeks.

He said he was severely beaten by ZANU-PF youth militias for failing to attend one meeting because he was at work.

The message about serial numbers on the ballot papers was being repeated daily, he said.

“You are expected to memorize the last two digits of the serial number and then surrender the number to the [ZANU-PF] official. Then after the results they will go back to the ballot box and check your serial numbers.”

He said people at the meetings were warned that whoever voted for the opposition would face severe retribution.

“They will launch another operation, called Operation Elimination, where people will be disappearing,” he said. “They repeat the same message over and over.”

People were given the option of approaching the presiding officer at the polling station, pretending to be illiterate and telling the official to record a vote for Mugabe, he said.

Tobaiwa voted for Tsvangirai in the first round of the presidential election but plans to stay away Friday.

“I voted for the MDC because of the difficulties that we are facing. We had hoped that there was room for change. But I’m afraid that if I vote for the party of my choice, they will kill me.”

Ruling party officials have said it is the patriotic duty of Zimbabweans to vote but have not issued specific threats against those who don’t.

Ndaziweye was stunned by the hundreds of apparently enthusiastic ZANU-PF supporters at the meeting Sunday. With most people terrified to talk politics -- in contrast to the situation before the first round vote in which Tsvangirai received more votes than Mugabe but not, according to the Electoral Commission, an outright majority -- she believes they just want to “be good” and avoid angering the ruling party operatives.

“They want to show they’re strong ZANU-PF, or [the ZANU-PF militants] will say you are just coming there to fool them and you are really MDC, not ZANU-PF warriors, as they say it,” she said.

ZANU-PF youth militias have beaten people at their nearby base, she said.

She believes most youths are there because they are provided cornmeal porridge, called sadza.

“They were singing [on Sunday] because they had enough food for today. They don’t know about tomorrow. After the vote, they will be thrown away, they will just go starving because [ZANU-PF] can’t keep looking after them.”

Despite Tsvangirai’s withdrawal from the race because of the violence, Ndaziweye thought it was still important for people to vote.

“People must be brave, even though Mugabe has said he is not going to give up. It’s better that we show Tsvangirai has won, even if we know he’s not going to be president until after Mugabe dies.”