Skip to main content

ZIMBABWE: Peaceful' Zimbabwe election in 4-5 months: president






Emmerson Mnangagwa indicated he wants to resolve disputes with the West and open Zimbabwe up to foreign investment

Zimbabwe will hold elections in four or five months, the new president announced on Thursday, a sign the country ruled for decades by autocratic leader Robert Mugabe is on the path towards true democracy.
However, the announcement came as the main opposition party accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government of secretly deploying thousands of soldiers in rural areas to help sway the election in his favour.
The elections will be the first not involving Mugabe since Zimbabwe's independence from Britain in 1980. Voting for the presidency, parliament, and local government will be peaceful, Mnangagwa said.
"Zimbabwe is going for elections in four to five months' time and we have to preach peace, peace and peace because we know it is good for us and we have no doubt that we will have peaceful elections," Mnangagwa was quoted as saying by the official Herald newspaper during an official trip to Mozambique.
"The MDC is ... deeply concerned by the continued militarisation of villages around the country. We have solid and incontrovertible evidence pointing to the fact that thousands of army officers in civilian attire have been deployed into the countryside for the purposes of carrying out clandestine political campaigns on behalf of ZANU-PF," a MDC statement said.
Under the constitution, Zimbabwe should hold elections between July 22 and August 22, but parliament can choose to dissolve itself, triggering an earlier vote. ZANU-PF holds a two-thirds majority in parliament.
Western countries imposed harsh sanctions on Zimbabwe over land seizures from white farmers and alleged vote-rigging under Mugabe.
Little investment in agriculture - the backbone of the economy - has been made over the past two decades because of disputes over compensation between former white farmers and the government.
Resolving the land issue could unlock foreign investment in agriculture and help mend ties between Harare and the West.

Source: Aljazeera 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

90-year-old tourist killed after being attacked by crocodiles while on inflatable boat in Zimbabwe

The attack took place in crocodile hatching season (file photo) Getty images Crocodile attacks tend to spike around this time of year as hatchlings emerge and females leave their nests, which they have guarded without eating for three months. Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said: “The crocodiles attacked the air-pumped boat they were using until it punctured. Their colleagues noticed that they were struggling and drove to seek help “When the park rangers arrived at the dam, Bowman and Mitchell were still under attack from the crocodiles  “The rangers had to shoot at the crocodiles to disperse them and rescue the two and take them to hospital where Bowman died before arrival. Mitchell has life-threatening injuries and remains in intensive care unit in Bulawayo.” Crocodiles typically grab their prey by a limb and spin them in a “death roll” which subdues the victim by drowning. Source: Independent 
Post a Comment
Read more

Ex-VP Mujuru 'was hit on the cheek with a stone by Zanu-PF activist': Spokesperson

Harare - A Zimbabwean opposition leader and her entourage were Thursday attacked with stones by suspected ruling party activists in Harare, her party said. Joice Mujuru, a former vice president of the country who is now leader of the National People's Party (NPP), and her supporters were pelted while on the campaign trail. Zimbabwe is due to hold general elections before July - the first polls since independence hero Robert Mugabe was ousted after 37 years in power. Mujuru is one of the prominent contenders. Mujuru was hit on the cheek with a stone and later addressed a rally in the working class suburb of Glen Norah after she received medical treatment, her spokesperson said. Mujuru "was going to address a rally ...she passed through a shopping centre and when people realised it was her, they came out of the shops to cheer her", Jeffryson Chitando told AFP. "She got out of her car and greeted the people, and that is when Zanu-PF (activists) started thro...
Post a Comment
Read more

The great fish robbery that costs Africa billions

(CNN) The ocean once offered a comfortable life for the fishing community of Joal, in the Senegalese capital Dakar. "Ten years ago a fisherman could support a big family," says Ahmed Diame, a Greenpeace ocean campaigner based in the region. "Now they cannot eat." Depleted fish stocks force the fishermen to travel further out to sea in search of a worthwhile catch, says Diame, which can be dangerous. Others quit and leave Joal to find work abroad, often via migration routes that are even more dangerous. In a community that relies on fish, the wider economy suffers. The jobs of processing and preparing fish are also disappearing, along with those of the boat builders. The drought is also taking its toll on the population's health. "People rely on fish for protein," says Diame. "A lot of the boys are very weak with malnutrition." The crisis in Joal is indicative of a wider problem. West Africa has become a global hub of ill...
Post a Comment
Read more