Socialist media project based in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia
– Alastair Reith
In the past month or so, elections took place in three very different countries, far away from one another, with distinctly different languages, cultures and histories. These countries did have some things in common. All were all poor, third-world countries, whose people live in poverty and oppression, and they all voted against the regimes and systems they currently live under.
– Alastair Reith
Leader of the Zimbabwean opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai
On 29 March 2008, the people of Zimbabwe went to the polls to vote in the parliamentary and presidential elections, and on the future of their impoverished country.
There was world-wide interest in the elections and a great deal of media coverage. These elections were seen as crucial in determining whether President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU-PF party would maintain their 28-year hold on power, or whether the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would take their place.
The elections were marred by violent clashes between the supporters of various parties and factions, and were carried out in an atmosphere of extreme tension.
Official results began to trickle in on March 31. By April 2 all the results for the lower House of Assembly had been declared, with the majority faction of the MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, winning 99 seats, Mugabe’s ZANU-PF winning 97, the minority MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara winning 10 seats, and one independent.
This was the first time since the end of white minority rule that Mugabe’s party had not held a majority, and it showed the level of dissatisfaction with him that exists in Zimbabwe.
– Daphna Whitmore
Some walked for miles to cast their vote. It was soon clear millions had voted for radical change in Nepal. The Maoists are by far the largest party in the Constituent Assembly and have promised to end the feudal-monarchy and to mobilise against poverty and repression.
The groundswell began in 1996 with a Maoist-led armed struggle in the rural areas. Within a decade they had established Red Zones in 80 percent of the countryside. Land reforms, campaigns for women’s equality, literacy drives and new infrastructure projects changed the physical and political landscape.
Jared Phillips from the Workers Party travelled to Nepal in 2003 and was one of the first Westerners to visit the Red Zones. He was impressed by what he saw and spoke of the women’s movement there. “It is one of the most advanced in the world today” he said. “The difference between the situation of women in the liberated areas and women in old Nepal was mind-blowing. In Kathmandu women were like slaves to the men; waiting on them hand and foot. Walking along the street women would have their eyes to the ground. What a contrast it was in the Red Zones. Women would come up and give the clench-fist salute and shake my hand saying ‘Lal Salaam’, which means red salute. They were very confident, and self-assured.”
Press Release
The Workers Party (NZ) welcomes the victory of the Maoists in the
Nepalese elections. Jared Phillips, a Workers Party activist who
spent four weeks in the Red Zones of Nepal in 2003, meeting with
activists and leaders of the Maoist movement and witnessing first-
hand the progressive reforms being implemented in the rural areas
led by the Maoists, says the election victory is “a blow against
under-development, poverty, and repression, and is a stride forward
for liberation everywhere.”
The following article is taken from the April 3 issue of the Weekly Worker, paper of the Communist Party of Great Britain:
James Turley asks what MDC rule would mean for Zimbabwe’s workers.
On April 2 the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which had been claiming victory since the polls closed, was finally confirmed as the largest party in Zimbabwe’s March 29 general election.
In a desperate attempt to delay the inevitable, the Zimbabwe election commission – no doubt under orders from president Robert Mugabe – is still refusing at the time of writing to release results for the presidential election, where MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has certainly won most votes. Even if he has not passed the 50% mark, necessitating a run-off, it is clear that the era of the Mugabe regime is over.
Hebson Makuvise, the MDC spokesman in London, claimed that Mugabe will “unleash violence”. The claim is not simply rhetorical – Mugabe has used his control of the security services as a rough instrument in such situations before. However, all the signs are that Mugabe and his cohorts are preparing to exit the scene of their crimes, taking as much booty with them as they can manage.
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