Movement for Democratic Change has heaped pressure on the ruling Zanu PF to come out clean on reports of intimidation and threatening of rural voters with a repeat of the 2008 violence should they vote for the opposition, saying they are worried about President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s silence on the issue despite having written to him.
Addressing the media in Harare today, MDC-T President, Nelson Chamisa said his party has received reports of threats against supporting the opposition.
“I have been receiving calls from people in rural areas that they are being threatened to vote for ZANU PF, and if failure to do so they are being told that the 2008 acts will come again.
“Also on my visits to the rural areas, as you know we are doing nation-wide rallies, people are telling me that their serial numbers are being collected by people who are saying that they are ex-military, threatening people who support MDC,” said Chamisa.
He accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa of turning a deaf ear on the issue of intimidation of opposition voters, “I have notified president Mnangagwa about these threats and to my surprise he has not say anything about it, he is ignoring it. What we are only hearing from him is that Zimbabwe is open for business, yet some people are being abuse.”
Chamisa vowed that elections will not happen without electoral reforms, accusing Zanu PF of planning to rig elections by keeping in secrecy, the election dates which he said was against the spirit of fairness.
He added that his party is ready for the elections, confirming that they will soon unveil their detailed policy programmes on how they intend to rescue Zimbabwe.
“As a party, we are ready to roll. We are fine-tuning our policy programme and our people’s manifesto that will truly respond to the challenges facing the despondent citizens of this nation.
“We have re-branded and revamped this movement and in the next few weeks, we will be unveiling the detailed policy programmes of how we will rescue this country from the abyss,” said Chamisa.
Zimbabwe will hold the next general elections in three months time, the first since since 2000 to feature new faces representing the ruling Zanu PF and the main opposition MDC-T. This follows the ouster of former President Robert Mugabe and the death of Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC.
Mnangagwa has insisted that the upcoming elections will be free and fair and has extended an invitation to the international community including European Union countries and the United States of America to observe elections.
