Zimbabwe Election Support Network has called for action on reported cases of intimidation and violence that took place during the Mwenezi East by-election period by the Zimbabwe Republic Police and Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission.
According to ZESN, the recently held by-elections in Mwenezi East were marred by reports of intimidation and violence, abuse of traditional leaders in campaigns, defacing of campaign materials, vote buying and partisan food distribution which the elections lobby group believes calls for immediate action from ZRP and ZHRC.
“Although the Election Day was generally peaceful the campaign period was marred by allegations of intimidation, abuse of traditional leaders in campaigns, defacing of campaign materials, vote buying and partisan food distribution. In addition, there were reports of the police refusing to grant clearances for opposition rallies in some of the wards. In contravention of Section 45(2) of the Traditional Leaders Act, the ruling party candidate used Traditional Leaders to canvass for support, intimidate and commandeer voters on Election Day.
“ZESN commends the assigning of three magistrates to deal with cases of violence and intimidation for the Mwenezi East by-election in line with Section 133J (3) of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13). ZESN however calls for consistency and continuity in the implementation of this provision and for the police and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) to take action on the reported cases of intimidation and violence,” reads part of the statement.
The Mwenezi seat fell vacant following the death of former the incumbent ZANU PF Member of Parliament, Joshua Moyo, on 22 December 2016.
ZESN recommended civic organizations to invest in more comprehensive voter education programs to improve voters’ understanding of key electoral requirements in order to reduce numbers of turned away and assisted voters.
They also called for robust voter education, public awareness campaigns and publicity on the new Polling Station Based Voters’ Roll to ensure that voters are aware of their specific polling stations to avoid cases of voters presenting themselves at the wrong polling stations.
