Head of the mission and Swaziland Member of Parliament, Marwick Khumalo, told journalists on June 18 that the forthcoming election was different from the March 29 polls, which were held in a peaceful and enabling environment.
“The violence is very worrying and we have utterances from politicians which are very unfortunate. The war utterances do not add value to the electoral process in this country. Since we arrived here we have been responding to concerns from parties and we have investigated some of them,” Khumalo said.
The mission met a man who was no longer living at his home as a result of the ongoing political violence and showed them a grave of his wife who was killed in the disturbances.
 “It is regrettable that violence has resurfaced and now our task is going to be very difficult. We now have to observe as well as investigate the issues of violence,” Khumalo said.
The MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, has claimed that over 60 supporters of the party have been killed since the March elections and thousands displaced, particularly in the rural areas. They blame the government for the violence.
World attention is again shifting to Zimbabwe ahead of the vote on June 27.
Zanu (PF) presidential candidate, Robert Mugabe, has announced that the country will never be ruled by the MDC. He accused them of being used by Britain and the United States to effect regime change. He threatened “war” to ensure that he remained in power regardless of the outcome of the poll.
Post published in: Opinions