MDC-T says dossiers ‘finally’proves July 31 poll fraud

Politics
FORMER Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T has produced a new “dossier” which the party says finally provides concrete evidence on how the July 31 elections were allegedly rigged by Zanu PF.

FORMER Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T has produced a new “dossier” which the party says finally provides concrete evidence on how the July 31 elections were allegedly rigged by Zanu PF.

STAFF REPORTER

But Zanu PF immediately dismissed the dossier as full of lies saying the opposition MDC-T should come to terms with its massive defeat by the ruling party in a “free and fair election”.

The MDC-T said it now has details of how the manipulation of the elections was planned and executed after obtaining the details from confidential links who were involved in the alleged “rigging mission”.

Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka said the 54-page document entitled The Zimbabwe 2013 Election: Rigging Report will soon be presented to other African leaders for their consideration.

“We will pursue diplomatic channels and furnish African leaders and regional organisations such as the African Union with the report on how Zanu PF stole the elections,” he said.

It makes a sensational claim that a total of $100 million was used to manipulate the elections through a “monolith” system and structure comprising largely secretive and shadow organisations as well as individuals.

The document alleges that local organisations, individuals, structures within the State’s security sector were at the epicentre of the “rigging machinery,” with vast technical expertise and support provided by foreign individuals and groups.

It says the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) led by Justice Rita Makarau was reduced to a bystander in the electoral fiasco, playing a rubber-stamping role as a secret structure of military and intelligence officials directed and controlled everything.

“The official structure was virtually rendered useless and forced to follow behind the planted agents,” the report reads.

It claims three ZEC commissioners who provided information in confidence stated that the electoral body totally ceded authority and control of the election planning and conduct to other players.

“In addition to virtually being barred from playing its role of monitoring and controlling the voter registration exercise, ZEC’s official structure was also kept in the dark about the process of preparing the voter’s roll, which was being done secretly,” the document says.

“The ZEC official structure cannot up to now account for the number of ballot papers that were printed, how they were distributed and used. The commissioners were merely given figures to issue out, but without being allowed to observe, monitor or even take stock of this vital aspect of an election.”

The MDC-T “dossier” claims that President Robert Mugabe met and hosted Israel’s Nikuv Projects chief executive officer Emmanuel Antebion on June 20 in 2012 and on July 30 this year for briefings and payment arrangements for the secret services that the company was doing.

It alleges a high command, comprising nine senior government ministers (names withheld) was delegated to supervise the mission to manipulate the electoral process and undertook secret missions to Israel, China, Angola, Central Africa Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the purpose of obtaining advice and funding.

The document claimed that below the high command was the management and implementing committee, which was controlled and led by the military and intelligence officials.

“The military and intelligence structure was charged with ensuring close and tight monitoring as well as supervision of all individuals and organisations variously involved in the rigging mission and keep them within the confines of the plans, objectives and targets,” it reads.

“It is through the involvement of military and intelligence at the very top levels that it was effectively ensured that virtually all the electoral management organisations being infiltrated and brought under the control and influence of the secret structure and machinery.”

The report alleges a total of 1 000 retired senior army and intelligence officials were recalled in June to boost the numbers of those still in service and perform critical roles in the plan.

“Their major task was to ensure that specific plans were implemented, such as disenfranchising voters, allowing ballot stuffing, voting with fake registration slips, enforced assistance voting, multiple voting and also use of water marked ballot papers,” it reads.

The report alleges that the hard copy version of the voters roll which the registrar-general handed to ZEC less than 48 hours before voting was not a consolidated national register of voters as required by the law.

It says it was made of various and different versions that were dominated by deliberate repetition of hundreds of thousands of ghost voters, used to justify the strategies of multiple voting and ballot stuffing.

The MDC-T alleged that Nikuv was given a $13 million contract to manipulate the electoral process, which was paid in staggered instalments and batches starting in November 2012 and without the consent and knowledge of the Finance ministry.

“Nikuv experts formulated strategies that would avoid defeat and rig the election for a Zanu PF victory, through disenfranchising voters, diluting MDC strongholds, creating ghost voters and facilitating for multiple voting as well as ballot stuffing,” the dossier reads.

It claims that three Nikuv experts arrived in November 2012 and were assigned to start preparing for the mission with initial strategies that included issuance of fake IDs, identifying names of dead people and those in the Diaspora for inclusion in the voters’ roll.

The report also said Chinese experts contributed in the formation and implementation of strategies as well as bringing special materials used in the electoral fraud including a special water-marked ballot paper.