Diary of a non-election

Zimbabwe went to the polls on 27 June to vote in a presidential run-off in which Robert Mugabe was the only candidate.

One Harare resident, who asked to remain anonymous, has been keeping a diary on the elections.

MONDAY 30 JUNE

A Mugabe spokesperson at the AU summit told the west to "go hang"

08:00
I go out to buy my local newspaper and am shocked by the headline: "Mugabe has gone to attend the AU Summit in Egypt."

That's why everything was being hurriedly done - he wanted to be seen attending the summit as the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe.

He really is thick-skinned. After all he's done, how does he dare to show his face like this?

But I am hopeful. I just can't wait to see his embarrassment when he is rebuked by fellow African leaders at the summit.

10:00
One of my colleagues runs into my office.

She tells me we must dash to the local supermarket to buy whatever we can.

There is a rumour that Mugabe will slash the prices again upon his return from the African Union summit as a conciliatory gesture to the electorate.

We quickly dash out of the office, but by the time we get to the supermarket, it's empty shelves again.

We try several other supermarkets and all their shelves are already bare. Everyone is trying to get anything that they can lay their hands on.

He will be 90 before we can vote him out

It is all panic buying. Where will we get food for our families? We have to brace ourselves for severe food shortages and stores with nothing to sell again.

I wonder when the so called 'people's shops' will come to my neighbourhood or were they just another campaign tool.

13:00
Lunch time news on ZBC leaves me eating my words.

Mugabe is shown walking gracefully like an African giraffe into the AU summit, side by side with the host. I just can't believe this. It was my last hope that someone at this summit was going to knock some sense into this old man's head.

I know that the AU is toothless, but surely it must at least have a few false teeth. My hope for the formation of some sort of government of national unity or meaningful intervention by an AU special envoy is falling away.

ZBC reports that the meeting is on Millennium Development Goals and not about Zimbabwe. They forget that it is dictators like Mugabe who are making it hard for the continent to achieve those very goals.

19:00
Just when I had almost completely given up hope, I've heard news that the AU summit has finally taken a stand against Mugabe and his government.

I can't believe it after the soft soaping he's received from African leaders over the past couple of days. The vice president of Botswana has called for Zimbabwe to be excluded from future AU meetings and the AU has passed a resolution calling for the creation of a government of national unity in my country.

This sounds very noble, but the billion dollar question is: who will head this government and will a so-called power sharing deal make any difference? Does Mugabe even know how to share? That's a great cause for concern. But let's just wait and see.

After all, Zimbabwe always springs up surprises.

SUNDAY 29 JUNE

08:00
I listen to the news and hear that the MDC leader has been officially invited to attend Mugabe's inauguration. My goodness, I cannot imagine whose idea that was. It is just like adding salt to an open wound.

10:00
I attend the Sunday service at my local church. It's the only hope, God will surely answer our prayers one day.

We share our grief after the service. Church is the only place where one can enjoy relative freedom.

To make matters worse one of our church members who has been out in the rural areas tells me that the violence against opposition supporters is continuing there even though Mugabe has already declared himself the winner.

We are shocked and promise to keep praying. One thing that never ceases to amaze me about Zimbabweans is the level of resilience and hope here. We're all convinced that eventually things will get better.

14:00
Mugabe's swearing in ceremony is on television. I'm surprised it's at State House. Why? Where has all the 'pomp and fanfare' of yesteryear? This is unlike Zanu PF, they always love big venues and big crowds.

I have to live with this for now. Mugabe is the newly elected President for the next five years, by hook and crook. I do my calculations - he will be 90 before we can vote him out.

SATURDAY 28 JUNE

08:00
The events leading to the run off are now taking a toll on me. I wake up exhausted in the knowledge that Robert Mugabe will, indeed, emerge as the unchallenged winner.

I just feel like staying indoors but I have to go to the bank to pay 'top-up fees' for my son.

The school fees are never fixed these days, it is reviewed almost every fortnight to catch up with the runaway inflation.

10:00
The queues at the bank are very long. People look devastated. I realise it is not only me who has been affected by this shameless run-off.

One young man picks up a conversation with his friend on the other side of the banking hall . "Man your local soccer team is a star, it played against itself and emerged a winner."

People start to giggle; they know exactly what this guy is referring to. I am impressed. He is one of the brave ones. Few dare to draw such an analogy in public given the awful violence being meted out by Zanu PF.

13:00
Lunch time news: the deputy minister of information is shown at the South African embassy where a large number of opposition supporters are seeking refuge. Most of them are still clad in bandages.

He claims the government doesn't need any help in looking after these people especially from foreign aid agencies. He claims that such organisations always bring their assistance 'with strings attached'.

This doesn't make sense to me. If these people are seeking sanctuary from Zanu PF, how can the same party be trusted to look after them?

Robert Mugabe was hastily sworn in for a sixth term in office on 29 June

19:00
The Zimbabwe Election Commission starts announcing the results. Is this necessary in a one man election I wonder?

I reflect on the events of the March 2008 elections, when it took them more than five weeks to announce the results. Yet after Mugabe's one man election they're ready in two days?

As usual around this time my brother calls, the family safety check again. He tells me the Zanu PF youths have run out of food at their bases and are forcing civil servants and villagers to give them maize, meal and other foods.

"If this continues, I'm going to have to join those seeking help at South African embassy," my brother threatens.

20:00
I hear the obvious. Surprise, surprise, Mugabe is the winner. He's to be sworn in the tomorrow.

But that's very short notice. How will all these millions of people that Zanu PF claimed voted for Mugabe be able to celebrate this occasion?

When will all the transport arrangements be made to ferry this huge army of supporters to the traditional Rufaro Stadium for his inauguration?

So, how, I ask myself, have they managed all this fast tracking? My cousin, who works for the Zimbabwe Election Commission, says he knows the answer.

"There was no proper counting," he says. "They simply made up figures to speed up Mugabe's victory. After all, the man should not be kept waiting!"

FRIDAY 27 JUNE

07:15
I wake up to a bright sunny morning. I'm curious to know what is happening outside. I take a short walk to the local polling station. It's unusually quiet - nothing like the hustle and bustle of the last elections in March.

Is this some kind of defiance on the part of the electorate? Only the events of the day will tell.

I walk back to my house but the quietness is really making me very uncomfortable.

When I get back I find there's no power, as I look around for an old newspaper to make a fire, I see a headline that shouts: "Your vote, your voice, speak out!" I realise I have been robbed of both my vote and my voice. I'll only vote if I'm frog-marched to the polls. Elections here are meaningless and worth nothing - just like the Zim dollar - democracy here has been totally devalued.

10:00

Robert Mugabe said he felt 'optimistic' as he cast his vote

I decide to take another look at what is happening at the polling station. I've made up my mind that I am not going to vote but I'm just curious to see how many people here feel the same way.

The road to the polling station looks deserted. As I walk down the road I see a pile of discarded fliers…some being blown by the wind. I pick one up and find that they're MDC leaflets asking people not to vote. They say "We will not rest until we have a new Zimbabwe". I'm amazed at the way they've just been dumped, an indication that all is not well. It seems likely that whoever brought them here was threatened or arrested.

At the polling station, I only see a few adults and some children. It's clear that I'm certainly not the only one who is refusing to vote. This gives me courage and fresh hope that I won't walk alone through this journey.

11:00
I run out of air time on my mobile phone and go into town to top it up. I find that all the shops are closed. As I approach the corner of the street, I notice a long winding queue.

When, I start to wonder, did the authorities set up a polling station here? But I soon discover that people are not actually queuing to vote. They're queuing for bread. It dawns on me that people are more worried about their stomachs than this shameful election. I join the queue with a big smile. Bread is worth the wait.

13:00

Tell me this is some kind of a nightmare

Lunchtime news on ZBC. Mugabe's daughter is shown casting her vote. Later it's Mugabe and his wife. Mugabe is in a jovial mood and jokes that he is hungry. I find this joke unpalatable. So many people where he is casting his vote are hungry. Why did he choose to joke that way? Well, that's Mugabe. He never ceases to amaze me.

14:30
My friend, who is discreetly monitoring the elections, asks me to escort her to a polling station 40km away in a rural area. This is where she grew up so it's easy for us to pretend we are at home.

We find people sitting in groups of about 15 to 20 at the polling station waiting to vote. They don't look very enthusiastic. When we leave we give a local teacher a lift. She's a former school mate of my friend. She quietly tells us that polling officers are writing down the names and serial numbers of everyone who votes. These details are then passed on to local Zanu PF youths. Everyone here, she tells us, is threatened with violence if they don't vote for Mugabe.

20:00
The eight o'clock news refers to the elections as "historic". Indeed they are, because I've never seen an election where voters have only one person to choose from and that man then declares himself the rightful winner.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's name still appeared on the ballot

A colleague tells me there are rumours the results will be out by tomorrow. Last time, when there was an opposition, Zimbabwe's Election Commission waited weeks to release the result. Now they're eager to announce them early. Stolen elections aren't the answer to our crisis - we need food, fuel and electricity.

I admit that I'm scared of what might happen to those who are found without ballot paper ink on their fingers. But, I have a plan. I'll just put nail polish or mulberry juice on mine and hope that it fools them. The struggle goes on.

THURSDAY 26 JUNE

11:00
There is a banging knock at my gate. I ask my son to tell whoever is there that I am not at home. As he opens the gate he is greeted by four young men who ask him if there is an adult at home. My son tells them he is all by himself and everyone is at work.

The guy hands him a leaflet and instructs him to tell his family that the election is still on June 27 and that anyone who say it isn't is telling lies. He is warned not to destroy the leaflet and is given a little sticker of Mugabe's face to stick on his shirt.

As soon as they've gone he runs back into the house and gives me the leaflet. It reads "Vote RG Mugabe, President. In 1980 we did it, now lets do it again, Save the heritage, Save the Revolution" and all the other propaganda. I want to throw it in the bin but I quickly think, no, let me keep it in case they come back and ask to be shown it again.

12:00

Threats were made against those not displaying proof that they voted

I turn on the radio and the jingles continue on the elections. But the opposition has withdrawn. I am confused. How will these elections go on? The Zimbabwe Election Commission still urges people to go and vote.

14:00
I pass through the local butchery, it's closed: but why? It usually closes at 5pm. I ask the vendor and she looks surprised and says to me: "Are you not aware that there are elections tomorrow? They have closed early today in case violence breaks out." I soon realise that most places and offices have closed too.

17:00
My brother, a nurse at a local clinic, telephones me. It has become our family tradition now that each night we have to check on each other's safety. He tells me he has just come from a meeting where the Zanu PF youth have threatened to deal with anyone who will not have a 'pink finger' by 7pm tomorrow.

That is the ink that shows that one has been through the voting process. He also tells me the local youths are also polling officers. When they get trained do to this, I wonder.

19:00
My maid who left early in the morning to travel to her rural home returns unexpectedly. She narrates her ordeal and tells me she has been barred from entering her village by Zanu PF Youths.

Violence against opposition supporters continued until election day

They ordered her to go back to town where she is registered to vote so that she can go to the polls tomorrow. She is in a state of shock and failed to see her daughter. I calm her down. She tells me she will have to go and vote because everyone says the regime will know if she doesn't. I look at her in disbelief. "It's not true", I tell her, but I know I am not making much sense. They have instilled so much fear in her, she will surely go.

20:00
On the ZBC news the Minister of Information reports that Zimbabwe is a sovereign state and its elections are not dictated by the SADC or AU. He dismisses Mandela's criticism of the violence in Zimbabwe as simply 'Western pressure'.

Then, the grand finale, Mugabe's final rally in Chitungwiza. He castigates the West, SADC, AU and MDC. A small sigh of relief - at least he says he might talk with the MDC - but only when the elections are over. I wonder what will become of this country.

Should I go and vote or just stay indoors. I don't know. I really don't know.

I kneel down to pray and seek God's protection. I am not sure what the coming hours hold.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 25

12:00
I hear some people chanting liberation war songs. I peep through the window of my office and see Zanu PF youths in their party regalia carrying placards.

I am amazed- a demonstration, how has this been allowed? Of course because it is them! Some even have babies on their backs. The lyrics of their songs all point to the fact that Tsvangirai is a puppet of the West and that the Presidential run-off will go on as planned.

One guy who looks like he has as just come back from the 'war' seems to be the leader and as the group hums on he threatens that they will deal with anyone who does not go and vote.

13:00

Some risked arrest to protest against the election

I hear a big bang and see a thick black smoke about 100m from where I'm standing. I see everyone running towards that direction and I join in. Oh my God - the local filling station is up in smoke.

I enquire around and I am told that the Zanu PF youth have burnt the filling station because it is owned by a white couple.

17:00
On my way home I pass through the local supermarket. Next to it a group of Zanu PF youths wearing their party regalia are drinking beer in public.

As I walk through the streets I am terrified by the heavy presence of armed police. If they were just carrying small arms I'm sure I would not have been so terrified, but a huge AK 47? I can't hide my terror.