MOSES MATENGA/MOREBLESSING MARANGE
The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) has warned of economic doom if elections are held under a violent and chaotic environment.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday proclaimed August 23 as the election date with political actors saying they were ready for a potential showdown.
Elections in Zimbabwe are usually marred with violent clashes among protagonists but the NPRC warned yesterday that if such is to prevail ahead of August 23, the economy is likely to suffer.
“There is nothing that we benefit from breaching the peace,” NPRC spokesperson Obert Gutu told Business Times yesterday.
“If anything, if we breach the peace and we destabilise the peace that will only lead to a lot of damage not only to the brand Zimbabwe but even to the economy,” he warned.
Gutu said political and non-political actors should remain peaceful ahead of the polls.
“We call upon all political players or those who are just political activists without being aligned to any political party, to continue to observe peace to appreciate that at the end of the day this is for Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe is our country, all of us,” the former Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs deputy Minister said.
According to the proclamation gazetted yesterday, the nomination court for election of President will sit on June 21, 2023, in the High Court in Harare.
In relation to the election of the 210 members of the National Assembly, a nomination court shall sit on the same day in all the country’s 10 provinces.
Reacting to the proclamation, several political parties said they were ready for it with the ruling Zanu PF party saying it will be a landslide.
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Advocate Nelson Chamisa says the 23rd of August will be a big day in Zimbabwe.
In the Proclamation, Mnangagwa also set October 2 as the date for a run-off for the election of the President in the event such an election becomes necessary.
Zanu PF director of information and publicity Tafadzwa Mugwadi said that the party is ready and is going to prevail.
“Zanu PF is very clear, President Mnangagwa is very clear, we are going to win this election resoundingly,” Mugwadi said.
“This is a watershed election for the party. We are going to win in the same way that we did in the 1980 victory.”
“He is the statesman that we have given not only to SADC but also to Africa not only to Africa, but to the entire world, and many did believe, men believED, women believED, young people believED, the elderly believED, war veterans believED, and every society believes in him.”
However, the Douglas Mwonzora-led MDC Alliance said: “As a party, we do not agree to President Mnangagwa’s proclamation of election dates because it is a flagrant disregard of the Courts, as you are well aware that we have a pending court case about the flawed delimitation report.”
“The MDC’s highest decision-making bodies, the National Executive Committee and the National Council, are going to convene soon. Our candidate selection process is still ongoing and about to be finalized, which means we are preparing for this election but under protest because the delimitation process is still before the courts,” he said.
