Local observers have called on Zimbabwe’s political parties and security agents to exercise restraint and allow voters to exercise their rights to choose their preferred candidates in Saturday’s parliamentary and local government by-elections.
Zimbabweans go to the polls on Saturday to choose 28 parliamentary and 105 local government council representatives after the seats were left vacant due to recalls and deaths of those previously elected in general elections held in 2018.
The empty seats constitute 13.3 percent of Zimbabwe’s 210 elective parliamentary seats, while the vacant council positions represent 5.4 percent of the 1,958 local government seats.
The Election Resource Centre (ERC) and Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said they are worried about the widespread intimidation, violence and partisan activities of state and traditional leaders ahead of the elections.
“Ahead of the 26 March by-elections, ERC and ZESN call on all key stakeholders, including political parties, security actors, and voters to contribute to respect and uphold the political rights of all individuals which are enshrined in Section 67 of the Constitution, including the right to make political choices freely and the right to vote in all elections and to do so in secret on election day,” they said in a statement on Friday.
They said all electoral stakeholders have a role to play in making sure that the are successful and called on “the security forces to discharge their duties professionally and political parties to refrain from using language that may incite violence.”
As part of their commitment to promoting credible, transparent and accountable electoral processes in Zimbabwe, ERC and ZESN announced that they would deploy approximately 400 observers across 28 constituencies to observe the by-elections.
JN/APA