- Zimbabwe’s home affairs minister says opposition elements are planning subversion during the elections.
- Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has called on his supporters to “defend the vote”.
- President Emmerson Mnangagwa said there was no need to accredit hostile election observers.
Home Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the country had noted, with concern, “several threats to national peace and security”.
This, he said, emanated from the opposition, through statements that could incite violence “before and after the voting period”.
Numerous analysts said all indicators point to a disputed Zanu-PF victory when this week’s votes are tallied.
The opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa in some of his rallies indicated that he would not accept “cooked up” results.
After the July 2018 polls, there were running battles between the army and opposition supporters in Harare.
It resulted in at least six deaths and hundreds of injuries.
After that, at the behest of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a commission of inquiry chaired by former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe was established.
Most of its suggestions were ignored.
However, the military was trained in civilian policing.
“The security forces have put in place adequate measures to decisively deal with [perpetrators of election-related violence],” Ziyambi said.
Defending the vote
The CCC urged its supporters to stick around polling stations to avert what it terms electoral theft.
In a statement in response, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said no one was allowed to be within a 300-metre radius of a polling station after voting ends.
“We also know that some political parties are currently recruiting youths from urban areas for deployment in some rural areas, where they would coordinate these so-called ‘defend the vote’ antics,” said Ziyambi.
Ziyambi said the state would not hesitate to deport and expose – “without fear” – foreign nationals who are said to be engaged in subversion disguised as observing the election.
On Monday, British academic Dr Stephen Chan was deported from Zimbabwe.
The government said it was because an immigration officer was not “satisfied with his reason for seeking entry”.
By midday on Tuesday, the Carter Centre had not been accredited to observe the elections.
In a statement, Maria Cartaya, the associate communications director for the centre, said the delay would compromise their abilities.
“This delay in accreditation is unprecedented in [the Carter Centre’s] 30-plus years of observing elections.
“It represents a severe and unwarranted obstruction to the centre’s mission, inconsistent with commonly recognised and respected norms and practices,” she said.
In a video address, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said there was no reason to accredit observers who had proven to be already hostile towards his government.
“If you are so biased to a level where you have already declared that there cannot be a free and fair election in Zimbabwe, why would we invite you to observe those elections when you have already taken a position?” he said.
Election day was declared a public holiday in Zimbabwe, and the polling stations will be open from 07:00 to 19:00.
Voters won’t be required to wear a mask, and using cellphones and the taking of photographs inside the polling station is strictly prohibited.
It is also illegal to announce election results before they are announced by ZEC.