Zimbabwe Could Ban Graffiti

March 23, 2004
Posted to the web March 23, 2004

Sarah Hudleston And Sapa-Afp
Johannesburg

A POPULAR outlet of political expression in Zimbabwe, graffiti, may be banned this week.

Proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, which include giving the state control over voter education, were contained in a bill published last week and due to be debated in parliament, the Zimbabwean state-run daily Herald newspaper has reported.

According to the Herald, the bill also seeks to make writing political graffiti in public places an offence punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to five years.

Zimbabwe's city walls are full of graffiti, much of it in support of the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Graffiti is also a social voice, used to register complaints about poverty and injustice.

It has been one of the last means of political expression for Zimbabweans, as access to more formal forums, such as a free press and the legal distribution of political leaflets, is denied.

The proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, which include giving the state control over voter education, were contained in a bill published last week and due to be debated in parliament, the Herald reported.

The announcement comes at a time when the MDC has threatened to boycott next year's polls unless certain conditions, including an independent electoral commission, are met.

The proposed amendments include the banning of foreign donations for voter education unless they are made through the state-appointed electoral supervisory commission.

The opposition has demanded more than a dozen conditions be met before it is willing to participate in next year's elections, including that the poll be held in accordance with standards set for the region, and the repeal of strict press and security laws.

A spokesman for the MDC, William Bango, says the proposed electoral laws fly in the face of the opposition's demands that the laws be reformed.

Instead, they are set to become even more biased in favour of the ruling party, the MDC