Source: Violence worries ahead of 2018 poll – DailyNews Live
Blessings Mashaya 25 March 2017
HARARE – Senators and chiefs have urged political parties to ensure the
looming 2018 general elections are peaceful, amid a rise in violence that
they blamed on ambitious politicians staking claims as candidates.
This comes as critics and opponents say President Robert Mugabe has hung
on to power by unleashing violence and terror, among other tactics.
Senator for the disabled Nyamayabo Mashavakure said “I think it is not
good enough for us as MPs to drive people in a certain direction in which
we might antagonise them against each other”.
“Whether they come from Harare, Seke, Chiweshe, et cetera, people are
people of Zimbabwe and should be free to be wherever. As MPs, let us not
incite antagonism among our people.”
“Political parties should be taught how to create peace among people who
have different opinions with them,” Zanu PF Manicaland senator Judith
Mawire said.
She pleaded with the political leadership to uphold peace.
“I am saying to any leader of any political party, they should preach
peace. What we know is that Zimbabwe practices democracy and the
Constitution allows us to have many political parties. This means we have
to agree to disagree on our political differences,” she said.
MDC Midlands Senator Lillian Timveos said violence is mainly fanned by
lazy politicians.
“You can pass through your neighbour’s field and notice that she is doing
very well tilling the fields and you are pained by that.
“So, most of the time even when we come to politics, if you really look
closely, you find that people who are violent during election time are the
Members of Parliament who do not stay within the constituency,” she said.
“They stay here in Harare and when it is almost time for elections, they
go back and want to force people to do what they want.
“So, most violent people are lazy because if you represent people well and
meet with them every time, I do not think there will be any reason to be
violent because you will have worked with them already,” she said.
” . . . our chiefs can help and do a good job if they could sit down with
the people in their areas, and also educate them on the negative effects
of violence.”
Chief Chisunga said all political parties must play a role in denouncing
violence.
“It is our desire as traditional leaders who are neutral to stand up and
tell the country that it is not good to tolerate violence.
“When we stand up to denounce violence, we are not saying Zanu PF stop the
violence, MDC stop the violence, we are simply saying as traditional
leaders for our nation and the sake of our young people who are growing up
and are tomorrow’s leaders, I think we should be tolerant of each other
because we are different; we think differently and we should be perceived
differently hence the issue of tolerance.”
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