Involvement of Forever Associates Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe's 2023 elections: Crossing the red line or recalibrating civic organisations' role in politics?

Abstract

Our study focused on examining the legality of the involvement of Forever Associate Zimbabwe (FAZ) in the 2023 elections in Zimbabwe which opposition political party supporters considered as an unlawful interference in politics by a non-governmental organisation (NGO). In this study we sought to trace how the State related to civic organisations since the Mugabe era especially during elections. We questioned the involvement of FAZ based on the fact that FAZ crossed the red line for civil society organisations (CSOs) which are, under the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Act, supposed to be apolitical. However, the active involvement of FAZ gave rise to the question of whether this was a recalibration of CSOs’ involvement in politics or it was a red line crossed. To come up with the credible empirical evidence, we used a combined qualitative and doctrinal legal analysis approach where we combined both legal provisions and qualitative data to establish the legality of FAZ’s involvement in the elections in July 2023. Data from 20 purposively selected participants from Harare revealed that involvement of FAZ was illegal, an interference with the political rights of opposition political party members, and a threat to the existence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Act. We use Gramsci’s theory of hegemony to analyse how States maintain hegemony over civil society actors just to advance their own political interests. The Zimbabwe Government’s silence on FAZ contrasts with its historical prosecution of other CSOs, suggesting selective application of the PVO Act.