Voting reveals serious division between main Rhodesian tribes

Press, 21 April 1979, Page 8

Voting reveals serious division between main Rhodesian tribes

NZPA-Reuter Salisbury The turn-out of voters in Rhodesia’s first majorityrule elections has apparently topped 50 per cent, with predictions that the last two days could see the Government’s own target of 60 per cent surpassed. . But a serious split between the two dominant tribal groups has emerged. A regional analysis of votes cast in the first two days — Tuesday and Wednesday — showed that the minority Ndebele have not been voting nearly as heavily as the majority Shona, a trend which could spell trouble for the new black-dominated government. The regional analysis showed a turn-out of between 66 and 70 per cent in three big constituencies cow ering districts of Mashonaland. But the two main districts of Matabeleland, home of the Ndebele, indicated a comparative reluctance to vote, with percentages ranging from 16 to 31. A Shona-dominated postelection government could face severe disaffection among the traditionally warlike Ndebele. who are generally regarded as providing the bedrock of support in Rhodesia for Joshua Nkomo, joint leader with Robert Mugabe of the externally-based ■ Patriotic Front guerrilla ali liance.

Patriotic Front guerrillas

threatened to disrupt the elections organised by the transitional Government of lan Smith and three Shona politicians — Bishop Abel Muzorewa, the Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole, and Chief Jeremiah Chirau.

The military commander (Lieutenant-General Peter Walls) told a press conference that there had been no increase in guerrilla activity during the polling. In one black reservation in the south-east, however, the military commander of the region told reporters that 70 huts were burned down by guerrillas after villagers had voted in defiance of their orders. “In another area all people were told +- > leave their kraals (villages) and go to the hills, dig a hole and get into it,” he said. In one “protected village” the reporters were told that 3450 votes had been cast by a population originally estimated at 3200. Officials said they believed extra people had slipped into the village from Mozambique over recent months.

“Voting is pretty close to 100 per cent in all protected villages,” said a district commissioner, Dirk du Plooy. Protected villages — rigorously controlled fenced compounds of huts — were introduced to rural areas by the military to deny guerrillas food and shelter. ’

One of the black parties contesting the election, the Zimbabwe African National Union faction of Mr Sithole, told reporters that one of its candidates and three assistants had disappeared in a war zone near Salisbury. The area had been infiltrated by guerrillas but was policed by the private army loyal to Mr Sithole’s rival. Bishop Muzorewa. The police said they had no record of a disappearance or death of a candidate in that region.

Military headquarters announced that a district commissioner had been killed in an ambush while driving to a polling booth through an African reservation.

i Voting ends tomorrow (N.Z. time) but the full results are not expected until the middle of next week. One of the international observers of the Rhodesian election said on Thursday that they had to decide whether sandbags and automatic rifles surrounding polling booths were aids to democracy. “What to some observers seem to be reasonable precautions mean to others a vote cast under the gun,” said David Willers of the South African Institute for Foreign Affairs.

The observers had to decide whether a reasonable ’election was possible while la bush war was being fought against the Patriotic Front guerrillas, he said.

“It’s the first time this " has been tried and we have to decide what is an acceptable level of protection,” he added. „

Mr Willers is one of 68 observers from nine countries touring voting centres throughout the country. Most governments have ignored the election to choose Rhodesia's first black-dominated government and the observers come from a variety of political parties, committees, and private organisations such as civil-rights and Church groups. Three American observers and the chairman of- a French political party sai<£ » in Bulawayo that they would * campaign for recognition of*, the validity of the elections! < when they returned home. -J Meanwhile, in London, the’? British Foreign Secretary David Owen) has said in an* interview that a future* Labour Government would not recognise an adminis- , tration based on Rhodesia’s . one-man, one-vote elections. . Dr Owen added in Ute J interview, in the independent"'» “Guardian” newspaper, that he believed if the Con-- , servative Party won Brit- > ain’s May 3 General Election - ’ and recognised a Salisbury - Administration, as it has promised, it would not be supported by the United States or the other members of the European Common ■ Market