By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Barely a week to the Zimbabwean national election, the country’s electoral body the Zimbabwe’s Electoral Commission (ZEC) says it is not influenced by the government.
This is in response to allegations by the opposition that the Aug. 23 poll is being manipulated to favour the ruling ZANU-PF which has President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the candidate.
“The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is not influenced by government, individuals or any other organisations as sometimes alleged”, Priscilla Chigumba, the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission’s Chairperson said during observer briefing.
She noted that the commission is “ready to conduct the 2023 harmonised elections”, following successful voter registrations initiatives.
“In its operations, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is not influenced by government, individuals or any other organisations as sometimes alleged. Section 235 of the constitution of Zimbabwe guarantees the commission’s independence” Chigumba added.
The run-up to the vote has been marked by a crackdown on opposition and suspicions over possible irregularities.
A pre-election debate in Johannesburg last week saw representatives of four opposition parties.
They accused ZANU-PF of fomenting violence and instilling fear among the opposition.
The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) alleged last week that one of its members was stoned to death by ZANU-PF supporters in an ambush on the way to a rally in Harare.
Elections in Zimbabwe are “an extreme sport”, said Mthulisi Hanana, secretary-general of the ZAPU party.
ZANU-PF officials preach “peace during the day and unleash violence during the night. The default settings of ZANU-PF is when they have run out of ideas… they kill,” he said.
The presidential race is largely a rematch between the 2018 leading contestants Mnangagwa of ZANU-PF and Nelson Chamisa, a 45-year-old lawyer.
Chamisa heads the country’s largest opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). If there is no outright winner in the presidential contest, a run-off will be held six weeks later, on 2 October.
