The CCC accused authorities of “cooking” up figures of its
unsanctioned party rallies as well as “lying” that the opposition party had
unfettered access to national broadcaster, ZBC.
Home Affairs secretary Gerald Gwinji told diplomats and
observers on Monday that police sanctioned 345 CCC gatherings to go ahead and
only turned down 65 out of 410 notifications.
Gwinji said out of a total of 1 437 notifications from Zanu
PF, 1 351 were compliant while 86 were not sanctioned.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services deputy
minister Kindness Paradza told election observers that most opposition parties
refuse to utilise free airtime on the national broadcaster.
CCC spokesperson,
Fadzayi Mahere said statistics presented by Gwindi were inaccurate.
“Respectfully, the position as presented by Mr Gwinji is
grossly inaccurate,” Mahere told NewsDay.
“To date, 101 CCC rallies have been banned or disrupted
unconstitutionally. We have never ever seen a Zanu PF rally being banned or
even disrupted.
“We challenge the police to produce proof of this. We
continue to demand a fair playing field which includes the freedom to campaign
peacefully.”
Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi was
not reachable for comment.
In a statement, Mahere also said Paradza’s ZBC claims were
false.
“It is a matter of public record that ZBC refuses to give
independent or fair coverage to the CCC, our presidential candidate advocate
Nelson Chamisa, our star rallies, cluster rallies, rural penetration drive,
campaign messages or any of our wide-ranging political activities,” she said.
“Not only is the State media’s coverage unequal, but
whatever token coverage is accorded to the opposition is biased, derogatory and
manipulated, in contravention of the Constitution and the electoral law.”
Mahere said the CCC was readily available to participate on
all-fairly moderated platforms which adhere to constitutional standards.
“We further challenge ZBC to afford our candidate the
opportunity on a live and unfettered platform, to present his message of hope
to the nation, in the same way in which it provides live, wall-to-wall coverage
of Mnangagwa, Zanu PF activities and rallies,” she said. Newsday
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