ZANU PF party is tightening its “authoritarian capabilities” ahead of the 2023 elections to prevent a humiliating electoral defeat to the opposition, a local non-governmental organisation has claimed.
After the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC)
won 19 of the 28 contested Parliamentary seats in by-elections held two months
after its formation, Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI) says the ruling party
was staring at the possibility of losing the general elections expected next
year.
CCC also garnered 75 out of the 122 local authority seats
while Zanu PF won the remainder.
ZDI’s latest report titled: Deterrent of the Zambian
Precedent in Zimbabwe suggests that the opposition victory in Zambia’s
elections last year was a wake-up call for Zanu PF.
“The electoral defeat of the ruling party in Zambia in 2021
has triggered the Zanu PF elite to intensify the building and strengthening of
authoritarian
capability and resilience infrastructure. The current
political economy has, therefore, been characterised by the deployment of
strategies to deter the 2021 Zambian precedent and boost the Zanu PF regime’s
staying power beyond 2023,” ZDI said.
“Zimbabwe is conceptualised as a competitive authoritarian
regime that is neither in transition towards democratic breakthrough nor
towards absolute autocracy. It is a deliberate mid-way regime with strong
institutional safeguards to keep the system neither a democracy nor an absolute
autocracy.”
ZDI said during its research, it established that the
military was involved in the transition and electoral processes directly
through deployment to suppress opposition mobilisation, deployment to the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), and indirectly through Zanu PF.
The centre of gravity in Zimbabwe’s competitive
authoritarian regime is the military elite captured Zanu PF manipulating key
democracy institutions, mainly Judiciary and Legislature, media and Zec. The
capture of Zanu PF is historical and philosophical as it is heavily ring-fenced
by four interrelated philosophical narratives that have made military
involvement in electoral and transitional processes a practicable and
inexorable culture in Zimbabwe.”
It said the feature of transition in Zimbabwe could not be
thought of or conceptualised without paying attention to the role of the
security forces in that transition, adding that Mnangagwa’s government had
built its authoritarian resilience infrastructure.
Yesterday while addressing the ordinary session of the Zanu
PF politburo and the central committee, Mnangagwa said his party structures
from the grassroots were strong enough to ensure electoral victory in 2023.
“The growth of our support base in urban areas is on the
right track, let us deploy responsive and people-centred multi-pronged
mobilisation strategies to endear the urbanites. The various strategies must
translate to Zanu PF votes at the 2023 harmonised general elections,” Mnangagwa
said yesterday.
Political analyst Prolific Mataruse said: “The economy
continues to cause headaches for policymakers in Zimbabwe and it’s correct for
analysts to observe that the Zanu PF government is being restive, especially
given a restless population.”
Another analyst Methuseli Moyo said: “President Mnangagwa
himself has said that what happened in Zambia could not happen here. That
declaration means he is determined to prevent it from happening, which is not
wrong by the way. What would be wrong is to use foul means to achieve that
objective.” Newsday
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