I see it's time to dust off Freedom House again.
Freedom House Press Release 1Freedom House Press Release #2, with link to the full 2005 rating reportZimbabwe (Political Rights/Civil Liberties)
2004 7* 6 NF
2003 6 6 NF
2002 6 6 NF
2001 6 6* NF*
2000 6 5 PF
1999 6* 5 PF
1998 5 5 PF
1997 5 5 PF
1996 5 5 PF
1995 5 5 PF
1994 5 5 PF
1980 independence after overthrowing the Rhodesian regime Ruled by Robert Mugabe since then; 1980-1987 as Prime Minister, 1987-current as President; always under the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)
Initially repressive but stable, but highly brutal 1983-1987 military campaign against Ndebele (largest minority group in Zimbabwe), who resisted Shona (largest group in Zimbabwe) total control over the government
Things really get bad after 2000, with forcible land redistribution *****THAT MOSTLY GAVE LAND TO MUGABE'S CRONIES IN THE ZANU-PF AND NOT TO "THE LANDLESS RURAL BLACK ZIMBABWEANS WHO WERE SUPPOSED TO BENEFIT"*****; economy implodes
2000 parliamentary elections; highly violent and not even remotely free and fair; Mugabe pardons all those who committed election-related crimes (including mass rapes) against the M(ovement) for D(emocratic) C(hange) (MDC) party
2002 presidential election; not even remotely free and fair
2003 by-elections; not even remotely free and fair
2005 as we've just seen (2 April 2005) parliamentary elections; not even remotely free and fair
Read the Freedom House report for more details...
And from Stratfor: Mbeki is backing Mugabe... [emphasis mine]
"Mbeki and his African National Congress party have been very supportive of their neighbor to the north throughout the election process -- both in the current cycle and in the 2000 and 2002 polls. ANC members have consistently stated their belief that this year's election would be both free and fair, saying they have no evidence to the contrary. They've also continued to commend Mugabe for complying with the electoral regulations of the South African Development Community (SADC), even though the SADC Parliamentary Forum has been excluded from observing the Zimbabwean election and other observers allege that many regulations were broken.
Mbeki is putting himself on the line for the regime in Harare -- but why?
.....
But there's a method behind this apparent madness.
Within South Africa,
the ruling ANC is a tri-partite alliance, comprising the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the African National Congress (ANC) party itself. Cosatu is a consistent critic of the Mugabe regime, saying the Zanu-PF has not protected the rights of workers in the region. In recent days, the SACP and Cosatu held joint demonstrations to protest of the Zanu-PF government and Zimbabwe's elections......
Mbeki is well aware that if a labor rights movement is able to take power in Harare, he personally could face enormous pressure and make an easy target for ouster, even from his leadership of the ANC. Mbeki has been in power since 1999 and is preparing for retirement; he likely feels the need to hold his golden parachute -- ballooned by international and domestic respectability -- intact until then."
