INFORMATION deputy minister Kindness Paradza says government will not succumb to Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa’s demands for electoral reforms.
“If Chamisa wants electoral reforms, he has to work through
Parliament. If the [Electoral Amendment] Bill goes to Parliament, it will go
for public scrutiny through public hearings where, if he wants to make any
submissions, he can do so through his Members of Parliament and supporters,”
Paradza told NewsDay yesterday.
That is democracy in our view. But it does not have to be a
demand because we do not succumb to demands. We are the ruling party and have
been in power for 42 years and we do not succumb to demands from the
opposition.”
Paradza was responding to Chamisa’s Twitter post that a
2023 pre-election pact is the only way to go for the country to avoid a
disputed poll outcome.
Chamisa, who narrowly lost to President Emmerson Mnangagwa
in the disputed 2018 elections, said various stakeholders should be consulted
on the pre-election pact.
“There are no genuine reforms in the Zanu PF government
proposed electoral reforms by the Cabinet. A pre-election pact on reforms by
all parties, civil society and stakeholders is key. Any unilateral political
decision will produce a disputed and discredited national leadership,” he
tweeted.
Government last month announced that Cabinet had approved
the principles of the Electoral Amendment Bill 2022.
Electoral stakeholders, including the opposition, however,
said they were not consulted on the draft of the Electoral Amendment Bill 2022.
The Bill is silent on demands by the opposition and other
independent election watchdogs.
In September, Chamisa launched the CCC’s pre-election pact
on electoral reforms blueprint.
During the launch, Chamisa said Zimbabwe had over the years
experienced a series of elections that failed credibility and integrity tests.
Yesterday, CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere said the
electoral reform agenda remained CCC’s priority.
“The CCC is currently seized with ensuring that any
amendments to the Electoral Act are the product of wide consultation with all
stakeholders, including civic society, citizens and political parties. The
citizens have unequivocally placed their faith in the CCC,” Mahere said.
“Against all odds, we have demonstrated that we are a
competent, credible alternative to Zanu PF. Even the Afrobarometer report states
that if an election were called today, CCC would win. Zanu PF can never win a
free and fair election in Zimbabwe. That is sealed and settled. This is why
they are panicking and resorting to violence. We want elections, not war.”
Zimbabwe Electoral Comission (Zec) chief elections officer
Utoile Silaigwana demanded questions in writing when asked what progress had
been made in addressing CCC concerns over electoral malpractices.
“These are mere allegations which we do not know their
basis. Send us questions in writing so that we respond,” Silaigwana said.
He had not responded to the questions by the time of going
to print.
Some of the alleged electoral malpractices cited by CCC
include violence against its members, Zec’s failure to release a credible voters
roll, vote-buying and lack of access to the State media, among others.
Political analysts say this pointed to another disputed
poll.
The analysts yesterday said odds were against the
opposition as the country marches towards the 2023 elections.
Analyst Rashweat Mukundu said: “The CCC is walking a
tightrope between a call for its supporters to come out in numbers to vote,
while at the same time contending with the violence and the uneven political
environment, hence the shift to extremes in messaging on political mobilisation
strategies.”
Political analyst Vivid Gwede said. “The last round of the
Afrobarometer showed Chamisa leading his opponent President Mnangagwa. But the
opposition should be cautioned against overconfidence. A lot has happened since
those survey results came out.”
CCC has ruled out boycotting the elections despite failure
by government to implement electoral reforms. Newsday
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