EDITORIAL COMMENT: Peaceful, credible, free and fair elections beckon President Mnangagwa
President Mnangagwa

President Mnangagwa

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has said he will announce dates for the harmonised elections within the next two weeks, effectively setting the tone for concerted campaigns by political parties vying for office in the eagerly anticipated polls.

His statement comes in the wake of the Senate passing the Electoral Amendment Bill last week, paving the way for a credible plebiscite. The milestone development by both Houses of Parliament empowers the President to sign the legislative changes into law and subsequently proclaim dates for the sitting of the Nomination Court and the actual polls.

This year’s harmonised elections come in the wake of the successful execution of Operation Restore Legacy which ushered in a new dispensation following the resignation of former President Robert Mugabe.

In the short stint that he has been in power, President Mnangagwa has instituted far reaching reforms and stabilised the economy which was careening down a slippery slope under the previous administration.

He has managed to attract Foreign Direct Investment to the tune of more than $16 billion with more investors still flocking to the country.

In the run up to the elections, the atmosphere is peaceful with all political actors freely going about their business unhindered. There is virtually no pre-election violence and the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance has been holding rallies across the length and breadth of the country.

Youthful MDC-T president Mr Nelson Chamisa will be President Mnangagwa’s main challenger in the elections which for the first time will be observed by the European Union, the United States and other Western nations. Analysts have predicted a landslide victory for President Mnangagwa and his ruling Zanu-PF party given the divisions in the opposition ranks.

A record 124 aspirants have indicated that they are interested in contesting the upcoming presidential polls, giving the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission a ballot paper headache.

Besides the smaller insignificant political parties, there are many opposition movements with a solid support base capable of splitting the opposition vote such as Dr Joice Mujuru’s National People’s Party, a faction of the MDC led by Dr Thokozani Khupe and Dr Dumiso Dabengwa’s Zapu.

Within the MDC Alliance itself, there are strong fears that some of the parliamentary candidates representing Professor Welshman Ncube’s MDC, Mr Tendai Biti’s People’s Democratic Party and Mr Jacob Ngarivhume’s Transform Zimbabwe might actually lose some seats the MDC-T considered safe because they simply do not have grassroots support.

There have been grumblings from the likes of MDC-T deputy president Engineer Elias Mudzuri that some of their alliance partners were not bringing any value to the coalition but were simply riding on the popularity of the MDC-T.

To compound the chaos, the ongoing consensus building process and impending primary elections have created rifts amid accusations of imposition of candidates. Tried and trusted cadres of the MDC-T have cried foul that they were being sidelined in favour of cronies and in some instances concubines of those in leadership positions.

A case in point is that of Harare West constituency where the incumbent, Ms Jessie Majome is being shunted aside in favour of little known Ms Joana Mamombe. Ms Majome has refused to go for a primary election alleging that the scales were tipped heavily in favour of her challenger who, apart from being ineligible for a parliamentary seat based on the party’s own internal rules and regulations, is reported to be close to some of the MDC-T leaders.

In Matabeleland, the opposition will face a stern test in Bulawayo where Dr Khupe is likely to eat into the Alliance’s support base. This will open an avenue for Zanu-PF candidates who might capitalise and grab one or two seats.

In the presidential poll, President Mnangagwa will have his ducks in a row judging by the gaffes and own goals being scored by his main opponent, Mr Chamisa. Besides being inexperienced and totally out of his depth, Mr Chamisa has displayed a propensity for lying through his teeth while on the campaign trail. He promises Zimbabweans unrealistic fantasies and his childish antics were recently laid bare on BBC’s Hardtalk where he was taken to task over some of his pronouncements. President Mnangagwa, on the other hand, has delivered on some of the pledges he made when he was inaugurated in November last year. His dogged determination to get Zimbabwe working again is bearing fruit with a solid groundwork having been laid for the economy to take off.

Clearly, investors are impressed by his Zimbabwe is open for business mantra with most of them ploughing their money into the country. Even those countries that were hostile to Zimbabwe are warming up to Harare with relations already showing signs of improving.

President Mnangagwa has shown that he can deliver and Zimbabweans should give him an opportunity to complete the work that he has begun by handing him a mandate to take the country forward.

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