Elections to go ahead, says President 

Tendai Mugabe Senior Reporter
President Mnangagwa says the harmonised elections slated for July 30 will proceed as he proclaimed, despite the cowardly terrorist act by yet to be identified people who detonated an explosive that killed two people and injured 47 others at White City Stadium on Saturday.

The blast, which was largely targeted at President Mnangagwa who had just addressed a rally at the stadium, was believed to have been engineered to portray a picture that the country was not ready for credible elections.

Some opposition parties were already saying they would petition Sadc over the conduct of the elections on July 30 following Saturday’s incident.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the launch of the Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank in Harare yesterday, President Mnangagwa said nothing was going to stop the polls.

“Who told you elections are stopping? I declared and proclaimed elections and who is attempting to de-proclaim what I proclaimed? The elections will be on the 30th of July this year, 2018,” said President Mnangagwa.

On Sunday Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga reiterated the same message saying nothing would stand in the way of the elections.

Addressing Zanu-PF supporters at Chibuku Stadium in Chitungwiza, VP Chiwenga said: “Before I proceed, let me make it clear for I know we have got our friends from the Press, that nothing will stop the elections in Zimbabwe, nothing at all.

“Zimbabwe is going for a new trajectory, a Zimbabwe we want, a Zimbabwe which the people want. The harmonised elections, come 30th of July, will go ahead.

“That act of terrorism which happened in Bulawayo is nothing, it does not deter us. But if the colleagues running for harmonised elections on the 30th of July are afraid and scared, they will be given security. The police will hunt down the criminal or those criminals and they will be brought before the law.

“The act does not stop anything, so we must all continue to campaign peacefully because we want an election, which is free, violence-free and credible. An election, which the people of Zimbabwe will say ‘this is our election’ and these are the leaders whom we have elected, free of any influence.”

Investigations are still underway to establish what caused the blast.
Zanu-PF leadership in Bulawayo where the explosion occurred said victory was certain for the ruling party despite Saturday’s unfortunate incident.

The party’s Bulawayo secretary for finance, Cde Mlungisi Moyo, said: “This is the work of desperate people trying to put a dent on Bulawayo province.

“The new dispensation started off here, so it’s people who are working desperately to make sure we lose the foundation we have set for the dispensation. Despite this incident, Zanu-PF is going to win resoundingly in the forthcoming elections. We are going to support our President and we will stand by him.”