'Demilitarise Zimbabwe electoral process'

Published: 02 February 2018

Acting MDC-T president, Elias Mudzuri has challenged incoming Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba to start demilitarising the electoral process, in order to ensure that the forthcoming elections are free and fair.

Speaking during a consultative meeting with vendors in Harare yesterday, Mudzuri said Justice Chigumba's first assignment should be to stop suspected Zanu-PF officials, who were demanding other people's voter registration slips and also to demilitarise elections.

"We hear that soldiers are intimidating people. We don't want people to campaign with the army because the army belongs to everyone. People should campaign with their activists not the army to be their activists. We hope that the new Zec chairperson will be there to deliver the spirit of constitutionalism in terms of elections," he said.

Mudzuri also said as long as Mnangagwa does not interfere with Zec for the benefit of Zanu-PF, the electoral body had the capacity to deliver free and fair elections.

"He (Mnangagwa) has also consulted opposition parties to ensure that there is a clear path to ensure that there are free and fair and credible elections. The President even swore that he want, to see free fair and credible elections," he said.

Mudzuri also reiterated that MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai remained the party leader and presidential candidate in the forthcoming elections.
The Warren Park MP said he was just standing in for Tsvangirai and was not interested in succeeding him.

"President Tsvangirai is there and he is alive and is the candidate for the upcoming elections. I might look healthy today, but I might not even make it tomorrow. So he might live longer than me so let's not discuss someone's private life and health," he said.

Mudzuri also said that vendors should not be removed from the streets, as long there were no jobs for them.

He also said that city council should always make sure that city toilets and bathrooms are always accessible day and night so that people won't use the bush as an alternative, contributing to the spreading diarrheal diseases such as to cholera, which are being blamed on vendors.
- newsday

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