HARARE: After weeks of uncertainty and flip-flops, the head of Zimbabwe’s leading opposition party urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday to announce a date for national elections.
Heated national elections in Zimbabwe
Zimbabweans will go to the polls later this year in what is expected to be a heated national election, but Mnangagwa has yet to declare a date. Nelson Chamisa, the president’s main rival, said his Citizens Coalition for Change party was ready but criticized the lack of clarity surrounding the election schedule.
Chamisa told journalists in Harare that his main concern is Mr. Mnangagwa, who continues to duck and dive on election day. He said that people must plan ahead of time, that some have to ask for leave days, and that some are in the diaspora and must return. He said that they must also plan.
The current parliament’s tenure ends on August 26, five years after Mnangagwa was sworn in, therefore, presidential and legislative elections were previously scheduled for that month. Mnangagwa was quoted on Saturday as saying a date would be announced on Monday, but the day passed without announcement.
Late Monday, the president’s spokesman told local media that an “election proclamation” would be announced “in due course.” Chamisa said that because we are not as disorganized as Mr. Mnangagwa, we want these dates to be known ahead of time. According to Zimbabwean law, the president must communicate a date at least 90 days before the election after consulting with electoral authorities.
Chamisa, 45, talked to the media in Kuwadzana, a working-class suburb of the capital, where he said he was checking that his name was correctly listed on the electoral roll. On Monday, opposition parties cried foul after numerous voters, including some senior politicians, claimed their names had been removed or misplaced from the voter list.
Mnangagwa, who took over for long-time ruler Robert Mugabe in 2017, faces widespread dissatisfaction as he attempts to alleviate entrenched poverty and stop persistent power outages and other hardships.
