Source: Nera mulls more demos – NewsDay Zimbabwe March 28, 2017
The National Electoral Reforms Agenda (Nera) is mulling more street protests and is geared to face the police head-on as opposition parties push for reforms ahead of polls expected in the second half of next year.
BY BLESSED MHLANGA
Nera is a grouping of 13 opposition parties and is also pushing for Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Justice Rita Makarau’s ouster as well as for government to allow for United Nations and Sadc-supervised polls.
Police have recently allowed demonstrations by Nera, but with stringent conditions as part of efforts to reduce violent incidents and destruction of property.
Nera head of legal affairs and MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora, however, said the new way of dealing with demonstrations by the police was unconstitutional and would be resisted.
“… extreme rubbish, we are not going to honour that in our demonstrations, we have no intention of honouring actions that are in direct violation and limitations of our constitutional rights, we have no intention of respecting that,” he said.
Mwonzora slammed the police’s discriminatory behaviour after they allowed Zanu PF women’s league demonstrations to go ahead across the country without restrictions, but gagged Nera as it sought to demand electoral reforms.
“They allowed Zanu PF to demonstrate against themselves, but sought to block the demonstration of the people. This is the discrimination against the people that we are not going to allow to happen,” he said.
Nera, Mwonzora said, had only heeded the calls by the police to stage their demonstration at a confined place last week because the courts had been slow in dealing with their matter.
MDC-T youth leader Happymore Chidziva issued a statement urging members of the youth assembly and other citizens who did not take part in the first Nera demonstration to join this time around, saying nationwide demonstrations were in the offing.
“Those who missed the demonstrations on biometric voter registration and electoral reforms, don’t lose heart, there are more demonstrations coming and we are bringing them closer to you. We will not rest, tire or be intimidated until and unless we get reforms,” Chidziva said.
Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi was not immediately available for comment.
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