Stop polls or risk protests, ZEC warned

via Stop polls or risk protests, ZEC warned – New Zimbabwe 08/02/2015

THE MDC Renewal Team has told the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to call off the two by-elections scheduled for March 27 in the Mt Darwin West and Chirumanzu-Zibagwe constituencies.

The opposition group warned it would stage nationwide protests if ZEC goes ahead with the votes.

“If ZEC is managed by right thinking persons, they will try to find out why the biggest actors in parliament besides Zanu PF are no longer interested in participating in elections,” Jacob Mafume the party’s spokesperson told NewZimbabwe.com in an interview last week.

“Should they (ZEC) not then, we will take these strategies to a higher level where we will include protests, demonstrations and so forth.

“There is a legal strategy, there is a lobby strategy and there is an awareness strategy all of which have been exhausted.”

The ruling Zanu PF is fielding vice President Emmerson Mnangawa‘s wife Auxilia in Chirumanzu-Zibagwe and Barnwell Seremwe in Mount Darwin West.

But the mainstream MDC-T has taken the issue to the courts challenging government to halt the votes until electoral reforms are implemented.

The opposition parties accuse Zanu PF of rigging elections, adding to participate in any polls without reforms would only help legitimise vote fraud.

“Look, Zanu PF is very confident of its rigging machinery that it can even fire its own people and call for elections and still beat you,” said Mafume.

“So there is no point in wasting time in giving this exercise legitimacy.”

Zanu PF has, for years, been rocked by divisions over President Robert Mugabe’s succession.

The fights recently came to a head resulting in the sacking of former vice president Joice Mujuru and several cabinet ministers over allegations they were plotting a coup against Mugabe.