The party’s spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told a press conference in Harare today that his party had information on a number of activities by the former ruling party in cahoots with state security machinery to illegally sway tomorrow’s vote in its favour.
“They want to slow down the voting process in urban centres particularly in Harare and Bulawayo by reducing the voting points in each polling station. The idea is to disenfranchise people in Harare and Bulawayo, two areas which are clearly MDC strongholds,” Mwonzora said.
According to Mwonzora in Bulawayo voting materials for Nkulumane and Nketa had been interchanged. “We would like to think this is an administrative mistake but we have our suspicions,” he said.
He said ZEC was still to give his party an electronic copy of the voters’ roll so that the MDC could analyse it.
“We suspect that ZEC may not even have an electronic copy of the voters’ roll,” Mwonzora said.
Major threats to the credibility of the vote remain, according to MDC-T.
“Information from our sources says that there are plans that before the results are announced by the ZEC chairperson there will first be taken to the Joint Operations Command,” he said.
JOC is made up of the country’s army, police and intelligence chiefs.
Mwonzora said state security agents were making efforts to interfere with mobile communications, bulk SMSs and social media such as Whatsapp to slow down the flow of information.
“In the rural areas traditional leaders have been instructed to hold meetings to force villagers to vote for Zanu (PF). The traditional leaders have been given incentives. According to the law traditional leaders must not interfere with electoral processes,” he said.
The MDC spokesman said Zanu (PF) politburo member Jonathan Moyo had been on television to tell Zimbabweans that if they don’t vote for his party the baton would still not be passed on.
“What this means is that President Robert Mugabe will refuse to hand over power. These are threats to the electoral process. War veterans’ leader Jabulani Sibanda has also said that the former fighters would not accept any leader without liberation war credentials,” he said.
Mwonzora said the decision by the courts today to deny MDC’s deputy chairperson Morgan Komichi bail was part of a calculated move to affect Tsvangirai’s chances in the elections.
Komichi was put behind bars after he presented ZEC with a special ballot paper which he said had been found in a rubbish bin outside the Harare International Conference Centre.
He is being charged with fraud and violating Section 85 (1) (e) of the Electoral Act.
Post published in: News