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President Mugabe

AS Zimbabwe edges ever closer to harmonised elections, we exhort all political parties to heed the clarion call for peaceful campaigns and to emphasise to their followers the need to maintain an atmosphere of peace and tranquility during this crucial period. Zimbabwe will be the focus of international attention during the run up to the general elections which are due by 31 July following a Constitutional Court ruling compelling President Mugabe to proclaim a date for the polls by that date.

The President has already said he would comply with the ruling and will not go against the basic tenets of democratic governance by ruling by decree in the event that elections are not held as and when they are due.

While Zanu-PF appears the only party which is ready for elections with its foes in the MDC formations hiding behind the call for media and security sector reforms to delay polls, the three main parties in the inclusive Government are united in their efforts to ensure that this time Zimbabwe will be an oasis of calm, peace and harmony in the run to and during the elections.

Last week, the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (Jomic) held a meeting in Bulawayo where political parties called for the promotion of tolerance and dialogue during the election campaign period. The meeting, held at the Large City Hall, was attended by Zanu-PF and MDC where they launched the code of conduct for political parties during the election period.

Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial chairman Professor Callistus Ndlovu said the code of conduct would go a long way in promoting peace in the country. “The code of conduct has been well accepted and we expect peaceful election campaigns by all the parties. We also expect people to live peacefully even after elections. Our leaders agreed and signed the code of conduct and we expect that everyone will respect it regardless of the political affiliation,” said Prof Ndlovu. “The major principle is that political parties and the electorate should conduct themselves in a manner that does not promote violence. All concerns must not be solved through violence, but through dialogue”.

Prof Ndlovu said Zanu-PF would continue to remind its members about maintaining peace all the time. MDC Bulawayo provincial chairman, Mr Oscar Ncube called for a commitment from all political parties to promote peace, saying it was the responsibility of each party to come up with measures to avoid political violence.

Yesterday, we carried in these pages, an article which said the political leadership from the three parties in Government met in Harare on Monday to get an appraisal on the code of conduct to guide parties ahead of the polls. The code of conduct, designed by the Organ on National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration, will see political parties being held accountable for their supporters’ violent conduct. The meeting, facilitated by Jomic, saw political parties calling for the promotion of peaceful co-existence. Zanu-PF, MDC and MDC-T attended the meeting where their representatives hailed the code of conduct for its efforts to bring peace ahead of the elections.

Some of the provisions of the code are that the legitimacy of a Government should be rested on a peaceful political environment where people are able to choose political parties of their choice. It also calls on political parties and their leadership who subscribe to the code to ensure that their supporters adhere to peaceful co-existence.

According to the code, political parties and the media are also urged to refrain from using hate language that incites violence. Principals to the inclusive Government are expected to endorse the code after provincial leaderships have come up with feedback on the provisions of the code. We hail the spirit with which the main political parties are uniting to promote peace and tolerance during this campaign period. We also applaud the efforts which are being put in place to operationalise the code of conduct which will guide political parties’ conduct during elections. This is important as it will assist to maintain peace.

We call on political actors to refrain from using hate language against each other and relevant stakeholders such as the media as this is tantamount to inciting supporters. In this vein we condemn the attacks against Chronicle senior reporter Mashudu Netsianda who was briefly detained and questioned by MDC-T security personnel who went on to confiscate his notebook and delete recordings from his mobile phone. Netsianda was covering a meeting where MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai was addressing the Bulawayo business community in the city last Thursday.

Another reporter from the Independent newspaper Herbert Moyo was beaten up by MDC-T activists at the party’s Harvest House headquarters in Harare last week as he was going about his duties. Political parties should rein in their supporters and discourage them from engaging in violent behaviour.