CITIZENS Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday declared war on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) until it addresses allegations of manipulating the voters roll and alleged mismanagement of elections.
Chamisa yesterday addressed thousands of his party
supporters at Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield, Harare, who defied police
restrictions and marched to the venue after the law enforcement agents barred
them from using buses.
Police mounted several roadblocks leading to Highfield with
some car queues stretching for more than 5km, especially on roads from
Chitungwiza.
Police were not allowing vehicles with more than three
passengers to pass through the checkpoints.
This forced CCC supporters to walk long distances to the
rally. Some of the supporters claimed that they walked from Ruwa, Glen View and
other suburbs in Harare.
In his address, Chamisa said CCC had tasked some “experts”
to analyse the voters roll, which exposed anomalies.
He said some of the anomalies included creation of
additional polling stations and moving people from polling stations without
their consent.
Chamisa said the party would engage in protests until the
electoral body adhered to its mandate as stipulated in the Constitution.
Nelson Chamisa, his wife and Lynette Kore
“We commissioned experts to analyse the voters roll. I had
been tipped off by some senior government officials that the document was being
tampered with. We have infiltrators in
government departments — we have infiltrated all government departments,” Chamisa
said.
“We will not let Zec get away with its manipulation.
Starting with this by-election, if Zec does not address these anomalies, it
will not be well. There will be
instability in the country. On the issue of voter manipulation, do not panic. We
have strategies.
The first strategy is to ensure that Zec policies are
compatible with the Constitution. If they don’t heed our demands, then we will
take legal remedies. But we know that the courts may not be able to deliver
justice fairly. We have our own solution. We will go to the streets. We will
protest against Zec.”
Last Thursday, Zec disowned the voters roll that is being
analysed by civic society organisations and suspended some of its employees for
allegedly leaking a copy of the national voters roll and sharing the “tampered”
document with an unnamed stakeholder.
Chamisa also encouraged teachers to continue fighting for
their rights, demanding better salaries. He promised that his
“government-in-waiting” would improve their conditions of service when it
assumes power.
Teachers have been on strike since schools reopened two
weeks ago, demanding better salaries.
In response, the government said it would fire teachers who
would not have reported for work by tomorrow and replace them with college
graduates.
“Teachers are wallowing in poverty. Civil servants have
become poor. Teachers have made their demands clear. They want their Mugabe
(the late former President Robert) era dignity to be restored. What is
happening now? Teachers are being victimised, they are being abused, and they
are being fired and accused of being aligned to Chamisa,” the CCC leader said.
CCC by-election campaign launch at Highfields Zimbabwe
Grounds, Harare
“I am not the poverty.
They want better salaries. Teachers — don’t be intimidated. Fight for
your rights, for the meantime, but when we are in power, we will restore the
dignity you had during Mugabe’s era. A teacher is the foundation of the
development of the country. A teacher is the guardian of the destiny of any
nation. A teacher is the compass of civilisation. All civil servants, the army,
police and the central intelligence know that if this government has failed
you, then you have to replace it with a capable government.”
The youthful leader told his supporters that CCC was a new
political outfit, which had not yet elected its executive as consultations with
the “people” were underway.
Speaking at the same event, former Zanu PF youth leader
Godfrey Tsenengamu said he was rallying behind Chamisa’s promise to turn around
the economy.
Tsenenagmu, now leader of the Front for Economic
Emancipation in Zimbabwe, said: “I was there (in Zanu PF). I rose through the
ranks up to the central committee. I am one person who supported the removal of
Mugabe, hoping that he (President Emmerson Mnangagwa) would turn things around.
Some people thought that he (Mnangagwa) meant change and we supported him, but
we realised that there is no change. We thought looting (which took place)
under Mugabe would end, but it has become worse. I am here because I support
gatherings where issues of development are being discussed. We may have
different ideologies, but something for sure is that you (Chamisa) are a force
to reckon with.”
During the rally, journalists failed to livestream the
proceedings amid claims that there was deliberate slowing down of internet
services to stop the CCC rally from being publicised on social media.
An international watchdog that monitors cyber-security and
the governance of the internet, Netblocks reported that there was a significant
slowing of internet services for many users in Zimbabwe as CCC held its rally,
which impacted multiple operators and prevented livestreaming from the rally.
Netblocks said metrics were consistent with the “slowing,
or throttling of services”, but could not conclusively identify the cause of
network disruption.
“Confirmed metrics indicate that internet service is
degraded for many users in Zimbabwe; the incident is likely to limit
livestreaming and access to online content as #YellowSunday opposition rallies
are held at Highfield, Harare,” the watchdog said on Twitter. Newsday
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