In an interview last week the Executive Director of the Centre For Peace Initiatives in Africa (CPIA), Leonard Kapungu, said elections must be held in a violence-free environment.
We call upon the international community to assist in creating this favourable environment for elections. We understand that there are some leading figures in our political process who are calling for elections to be held in 2011. We recognise that in the last two years of implementing the Global Political Agreement there has been some progress and there have been some setbacks. We believe that National Healing and Reconciliation should be given a priority and if successful, elections will be held in a very calm environment, he said.
He added that CPIA wanted to remind Zimbabweans that elections decided who exercises power, but do not necessarily bring peace. Peace is not the absence of conflict, but is the state of mind and the state of heart. As an organisation we will work extremely hard to create a state of mind and a state of heart that establish peace. Peace begins with each one of us and let us work together for that purpose, said Kapungu.
CPIA is a regional peace organisation based in Harare, Zimbabwe, established in February 2001 and endeavours to make a contribution towards the promotion of sustainable peace, stability and security in Africa, through conflict prevention, management and resolution.
Post published in: News