James Duddridge MP: Could the Zimbabwe election result be decided before polling day?

James Duddridge is the Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East. Follow James on Twitter.

Earlier this year, the EU lifted a number of sanctions on Zimbabwe following the implementation of a new constitution, to widespread international acclaim. Since then, however, the constitutionand everything it stands for, has been totally disregarded by the country’s leader, Robert Mugabe.

Allegations of vote rigging are nothing new in certain African countries, as elsewhere. But even by previous standards, what has taken place in Zimbabwe with the voters rol,l and within the ‘early voting' over the last week, is a shocking reminder of the illegitimate manner in which President Mugabe continues to operate in total contempt of international law.

Whilst thankfully we have yet to see the violence that has dominated previous elections, intimidation, frustration, and manipulation of the electorate has been rife, particularly within the regions which traditionally support the leading Mugabe-opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). This election faces the bleak possibility of being lost even before polling day through vote rigging and stuffed ballot boxes, without the smoking gun of violence.

James Duddridge MP: Zimbabwe's elections must be free and fair

James Duddridge is the Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East. Follow James on Twitter.

Western policy makers are sometime criticised for expecting the same standards of accountability and transparency within developing nations that they would expect within our own.  

Yet, there are circumstances, however developed or not a country is, when the rule of law simply must be upheld and we have a responsibility to ensure it is.  

Yesterday, Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, used his first presidential decree since the formation of the Government of National Unity in 2009 to bypass parliament and declare the date of the next election as the 31 July.

In one simple and straight-forward act, months of political progress in the country is at risk of being reversed.

The citizens of Zimbabwe have become far too use to the unlawful, undemocratic and illegitimate practices carried out by President Robert Mugabe. It is of little surprise therefore that this decision has understandably sparked outrage across Zimbabwe, as well as within the SADC region.

James Duddridge MP: We must do all we can to make sure Zimbabwe's elections are fair elections

James Duddridge is the Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East and previously worked in Africa prior to entering parliament in 2005. Follow James on Twitter.

For many, life in Africa is moving forward.  Recent development indicators published by the World Bank show that in Sub-Saharan Africa GDP has risen every year since 2000, averaging 5.8% annual growth.  Those are quite remarkable figures given the turbulent global economic environment of the last decade. The irony however is that probably the richest and most heavily resourced country of all within the region has benefited so few of its people and savaged so many. I am, of course, talking about Zimbabwe.

In 2008 there was a palpable expectation from the citizens of Zimbabwe that they were, finally, going to be able to vote for change in their country and alleviate themselves from three decades of a tyrannical regime. Unfortunately, Robert Mugabe and his party, ZANU PF, had other plans.  Despite every indication that the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, had won by a landslide, a run-off was set with Robert Mugabe after the vote count conveniently recorded Tsvangirai as falling just short of the 50% required to form a Government.  Over the next two months Mugabe and his Zanu PF supporters unleashed a campaign of terror and violence across the country, unparralled in its brutality even by Mugabe’s standards. Many opposition supporters were killed, and others – including Tsvangirai himself – were so savagely beaten they were left unrecognisable.

In the end, Tsvangirai fell on his sword to prevent any further killings of his supporters and Mugabe was once again declared the victor and the power sharing Government of National Unity was formed. Five years later, the Government of National Unity has certainly improved the situation in Zimbabwe; there have been four years of steady economic growth following 10 years of economic contraction, inflation has been reduced from 231,000,000% to less than 4.5% and last month a new constitution – which includes limited presidential terms – was approved. Much of these achievements are down to the efforts of Tendai Biti, the Zimbabwean Finance Minister.  With both parties now accepting that the Government of National Unity has run its course, the country once again stands at cross roads.

One longstanding MDC supporter recently said , "we really are on the edge here. We have an opportunity now to kick on from the last five years work and get Zimbabwe back on its feet and back to prosperity.  If we can once again become a viable destination for foreign investment, and get business working again, then all Zimbabweans will benefit. If we see what we saw in 2008, or a ZANU victory then God help us. We’ll be forgotten, and end up like the DRC."  And it's because of this very real concern that it is so important we, the British Government, and the wider international community, particularly SADC and South African President, Jacob Zuma, do everything we can to ensure the upcoming polls are bonafide and as the people want.  This means international election observers are critical, as is ensuring all political parties will be held accountable for their actions, as Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d'Ivoire.

The recent passing of the new constitution in Zimbabwe is reassuring, but it is right for the MDC leadership to demand certain reforms are implemented prior to the country going to the polls, most notably amongst the security sector where worrying signs have already started to emerge that intimidation seen in 2008 is resurfacing.

Whilst there will be some who think Zimbabwe should no longer be a priority for the UK’s foreign policy, particularly with recent news of chemical weapons in being used in Syria, a nuclear North Korea and the threat of Islamic rebels spreading across North Africa, that is to miss a vital point.  Where do you think countries like Iran and North Korea are turning to for uranium and other resource supplies? Where do you think the millions of dollars of diamonds revenues are going?  We need to look at the longer term and problems around the corner. 

The upcoming elections do not just offer the people of Zimbabwe hope, they offer the UK a chance to show it remains very much at the forefront of global foreign policy; with a democratically elected Government in power, Zimbabwe can be a major strategic ally to the west.  Let’s remember, after all, that the average Zimbabwean is far more interested in a decent education, Manchester United and Nike trainers than they are with religious extremism or the development of nuclear arsenals.  It is important we ensure there are free and fair elections so the people of Zimbabwe can decide.

James Duddridge: Perceptions of Africa are changing – invest now

James Duddridge is the Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East.  Follow James on Twitter.

Perceptions of Africa are changing. It is no longer the case that regional conflict can be used to paint the continent as a collection of failed states. Sky scrapers, city dealers, the trading of stocks and shares and a growing affluent middle class are slowly overtaking the traditional images associated with Africa.

I love Africa. Having worked in Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire and Swaziland at various points in the 1990s as a banker, it is a continent that has got under my skin. So it has been fascinating for me to hear the excitement generated around Africa’s future. I’ve recently went to a conference at the London Stock Exchange where investors were buzzing with enthusiasm for African shares. Companies are seeing rapid growth and everyone wants to get involved.

The narrative is quite compelling. The World Bank’s development indicators show that in Sub-Saharan Africa GDP per person has risen every year since 2000, averaging at 5.8% annual growth. That’s 12 years of continuous growth in the face of a series of world economic shocks – we would love growth figures like that in the UK. In the first decade of this century, out of the 10 fastest growing world economies, 5 were in sub-Saharan Africa, with Angola even outgrowing China.

James Duddridge MP: How restorative justice can help tackle the blight of graffiti

James Duddridge is MP for Rochford & Southend East. He will today be introducing a Bill in the House of Commons that would make it compulsory for people caught creating graffiti to clean it up and meet the victim whose property they have vandalised.   

Graffiti is a complex problem, but it goes without saying that we need to find a way to get those who create it to realise the impact that their behaviour has if we’re going to get them to change it.   

Some may regard graffiti as art, but that’s not the issue here.  Even if graffiti was an elaborate mural that every person who saw it thought was a beautiful piece of work – however unlikely that is, given that we all have different tastes – then if it was created without the permission of the property owner then it’s simply an act of vandalism and a form of criminal damage.

The scale of the problem around the country is huge, both in terms of financial cost and social impact.