The campaign to tarnish the image of the man who is expected to run the poll and announce the results started after Mtambanengwe embarked on reforms to make the ZEC more transparent in line with the Global Political Agreement (GPA).
Zanu (PF)'s shock troops, the 'war veterans' have since taken up the issue. War vet and Chivi North MP Trynos Huruva called on Mtambanengwe to resign over the affair, claiming he was a puppet of the British, the usual label for anyone who does not fulfil the wishes of Robert Mugabe's party.
The Mugabe loyalists have also vowed to invade Mtambanengwe's offices in similar fashion to what they did to finance minister Tendai Biti, if he announces election results they do not like.
The hate messages claimed Mtambanengwe had refused to read an official speech drafted by the ZEC officials for him to present at a conference in the United Kingdom last week. The state-sponsored Zanu (PF) propaganda arm claimed the retired High Court judge had abandoned his official speech in favour of a damaging report allegedly authored by a British embassy official.
State radio said the report presented by Mtambanengwe had given the 'erroneous' impression that Zimbabwe was not ready for polls. Zanu
(PF) has been calling for elections to be held before the end of the year. However, Mtambanengwe has reportedly said the ZEC needs more time to make sure the money is available and to sort out the voters'
roll, said to be in a shambles.
The MDC and several advocacy groups have also alleged that Central Intelligence Organisation officials dominate ZEC. They say these must be weeded out of ZEC before the elections as they have been placed there to help Robert Mugabe rig.
The official speech reportedly prepared by the CIO for Mtambanengwe to present at the recent UK conference, which the chairman allegedly did not read, purportedly painted a glossy picture of the electoral terrain in the country. The discarded speech also recommended elections this year, saying ZEC was ready to hold them.
Post published in: News