Interim Statement by Professor Amos Sawyer, 
Chairperson, Centre for Democracy & Development (CDD) Observer Mission to the Zimbabwe National Referendum on the Draft Constitution

The CDD Observer Group congratulates Zimbabweans on the completion of the national referendum on the draft constitution. The CDD has been involved in evaluating the constitutional reform process in Zimbabwe since September, 1999.

We observed the national referendum over the two-day period, February 12 & 13, 2000. Our mission, consisting of 9 observers from Liberia, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Eritrea, and Nigeria was deployed to six of the ten provinces. Prior to this, the teams had held consultative meetings with various stakeholders since arriving in the country on February 8, 2000. The teams visited a total of 75 polling stations across the country.

We commend the efforts of the electoral officials, security teams and local monitors who worked tirelessly to ensure that the referendum was conducted in an atmosphere that was generally free, fair and peaceful. The CDD Observer Group observed in all the provinces visited, a number of technical and logistical problems. In the first category was the delay in releasing the designation of the polling stations across the country; the confusion surrounding the alien voters' list which caused severe delay and, in some cases, inability of eligible permanent residents to vote; and the confusion surrounding the use of the drivers' licence.

We are of the view that whilst the counting procedure at the various counting centres was open and transparent, there is room for improvement in the transmission of results between the centres and the Registrar General's office.

With the Referendum now over, we are of the view that now is the time to revisit the constitution making process to which all sides in the debate have made substantial contributions thus far. Through their vote, the People of Zimbabwe have challenged their leaders to build a national consensus and to establish an appropriate mechanism for constructive dialogue as to the way forward. We urge all stakeholders, regardless of the outcome of the Referendum, not to adopt the attitude of "winner takes all". This should be an opportunity for a very positive re-engagement which is critical not only for Zimbabwe, but for Africa as a whole and the wider international community.

Finally, we wish to record our thanks to all those Zimbabweans who made our delegation welcome and assisted us in fulfilling our mission. In particular, we thank the RegistrarGeneral and his officials, the Government of Zimbabwe, the Constitutional Commission of Zimbabwe, National Constitution Assembly, the Ford Foundation (Southern Africa) and the Southern African Regional Institute for Policy Studies of the SAPES Trust for their support.

The CDD Observer Group will release its full report as part of the overall evaluation of the constitution-making process in Zimbabwe in due course. That Report will be submitted to the Government of Zimbabwe, the Registrar General's office, political parties, civil society institutions, local and international media and subsequently to all that may have an interest in the document.

Professor Amos Sawyer Chairperson, CDD Observer Mission

15th February, 2000
for more information contact cdd @ cdd.org.uk