THE Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn) yesterday expressed deep concern over remarks by Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa that Zanu PF has the capacity of “fencing out” opposition members during elections, saying this had the potential of inciting violence against political rivals.
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Mnangagwa was last week captured on audio in Chirumanzu-Zibagwe campaigning for his wife Auxillia for the forthcoming by-election, narrating various Zanu PF strategies of neutralising voters perceived to belong to opposition parties to ensure electoral victory.
Zesn said statements by Mnangagwa, a high-profile public figure, could lead to violence and unruly actions from his supporters against opposition members.
“In an audio recording and subsequent reports in the press, the vice-president chronicled how the ruling party would employ strategies to neutralise voters perceived to belong to opposition parties to ensure electoral victory,” Zesn said.
“The utterances by the vice-president are unfortunate and a direct attack on constitutional provisions in Section 155 (of the Constitution) that guarantee the electorate freedom to choose their leaders without fear, coercion and intimidation.”
Mnangagwa told Zanu PF members that “nobody comes to vote in the same manner that death comes, for death you cannot build a fence to keep it out, but a person who votes we can tell if they are for us or not with us and those who are not ours we will fence them out”.
Zesn said such utterances could incite violence against purported political rivals and efforts must be put in place to ensure that the will of the people is safeguarded and that there is no retributive action against supporters of the opposition political parties.
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Zesn, a coalition of several non-governmental organisations formed to co-ordinate activities pertaining to elections, appealed to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to implement the polling station-based voters’ roll as mandated by the Electoral Act (Section 22A) and to ensure a new and clean voters’ roll.
However, it said proper mechanisms had to be put in place to ensure the system would not be used to disenfranchise voters or for retributive action towards voters perceived to be supporters of opposition parties.
