By Paul Nyathi| Leader of the People’s Democratic Party Tendai Biti has blamed Emerson Mnangagwa’s government for forcing Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Chairperson Rita Makarau to resign.
Speaking in an interview on Friday evening, Biti said without elaborating that Makarau did not leave ZEC on her own will but was put under pressure by the combination of Mnangagwa and the military currently running the country to get her to resign. “Makarau is a victim of the junta,” he said. “The junta pressured her to resign because she is G40,” added Biti.
Biti said that opposition parties are not impressed with the way Makarau left her job at the commission and are not at all excited by her departure. “As the opposition alliances in NERA, CODE and MDC Alliance we are not at all excited over the departure of Makarau as it is of no significance as long as all the other commissioners at ZEC have remained,” said Biti.
“The departure of only Makarau from ZEC does not help our situation as we want the entire commission made up of persons aligned to ZANU PF to be dissolved and we have the AU and the UN run our elections,” he said.
Spokesperson for the MDC led by professor Welshman Ncube, Kurauone Chihwayi implored on Makarau to tell the nation why she resigned from her position unexpectedly. “Makarau’s resignation tells that there are problems within the commission and we need to know those problems as we prepare for elections,” said Chihwayi.
Constitutional lawyer Lovemore Madhuku echoed Chihwayi’s sentiments insisting that Makarau’s resignation may affect preparations for the 2018 elections. Madhuku said that her departure needs to be investigated as it points that there is issues to be attended to in the commission.
Opposition parties have been calling for Makarau to be removed from ZEC from the time she was appointed by former President Robert Mugabe in the run up to the 2013 elections.
While the politicians are sceptical of her resignations, Zimbabweans in general have received the news with joy as they strongly believed that Makarau was part of the alleged ZANU PF election rigging network.
Emmanuel Magade is the acting ZEC Chairperson until Mnangagwa appoints the new chairperson. – Source: https://www.zimeye.net/biti-says-makarau-was-pushed-to-resign/
COMMENTS
Yes, it was all that kneeling in the presence of the Mugabes that made the new guys smell a G40 rat.
Poor crippled Rita.
Now she can relax in quiet retirement, and have a couple of knee replacements, followed by a long recuperation period.
Good move! Too much power in the wrong place.
Makarau might hv bn threatened in one way or another leading to her resignation & she might hv considered that, in a volatile situation like zimbabwe, it would b wise not to expose n reasons for her action since itz certain it would backfire & places her life in a corner