Simba Makoni’s party speaks on elections

Silver Bhebhe, the spokesperson for MKD, told The Zimbabwean last week that his party fully supported the recommendations made by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that a clear roadmap should be drafted first before any talk of an election can be held.

“What we are particularly impressed with, is the stance to stop Mugabe from forging ahead with plans to hold the elections before major reforms were put in place,” Bhebhe said.

He added:

“MKD believes that important reforms and steps must be put in place before we even talk of an election, because we know for sure that if that is not done the playing field would not be even as has been the case with all elections in independent Zimbabwe.”

Bhebhe denounced the present Political Parties Act that makes it illegal for parties to source for funding from foreign countries saying Zanu (PF) has in the past used the law to incapacitate opposition formations while getting funding from nations in the East secretly.

“In the past, we have seen selective application of the law, allowing some parties to import container loads of materials and millions of funds from the EAST, while restricting other parties to only domestic resourcing. Such actions do not only break the law, but also create an uneven political landscape,” Bhebhe said.

MKD, Bhebhe also revealed, strongly advocates for a free media space as basis for conducting free and fair elections.

The party’s stance on deferring elections until such a time when all the processes that will guarantee a free poll have been completed, echoes sentiments made by both MDC formations that the present state of affairs should be looked into and the democratic space opened.

But Zanu (PF) is still insisting that elections should be held this year, despite widespread evidence that the ground is not yet even. The party is also constantly attacking SADC for pursuing critical reforms in the country especially in the security sector.