3 Million Voices
#RRRV2023
Zimbabwe’s general elections are due in about two years. Campaigning and related human rights
violations have already started.
At face value everything may appear calm, but our conclusive countrywide and evidence-based
observations actually show that the electoral activities have already begun especially in rural
areas.
There, incidents of harassment, segregation and intimidation have started, and no doubt, these
are meant to create a sense of fear, where people will not be able to express themselves when the
official campaign period kicks off.
A brief look at the history of Zimbabwe’s election periods show that the ruling Zanu PF is
prepared to do anything – no matter how brutal- to stay in power and the recent reintroduction
of the National Youth Service, whose reputation of unleashing brutality in communities is well
known and documented, is one clear indicator that the electoral environment is set to be
characterized by violence and gross human rights abuses.
As ZPP, our mandate is to work towards a Zimbabwe where there is peace, justice, dignity and
development in a bid to foster a culture of co-existence and tolerance as enshrined in the
Constitution. As part of our efforts towards that, we are introducing, in our Monthly Monitoring
Report and on all our online platforms, a campaign to use our strong rights documentation
capacity to advocate for citizens to Resist, Reject and Report Violence as we get into the 2023
election period.
The Resist, Reject and Report Violence, or #RRRV2023 campaign will also feature our provincial
analysis of the political temperature every month and closer to the polls under the same
campaign we will also have more products at fortnightly and weekly intervals. The campaign also
seeks to show case examples of where communities have been able to resist and reject violence.
Mashonaland East
Citizens in Mashonaland East celebrated independence on a sad note amid crippling economic
hardships and a deteriorating political situation.
As political parties concentrate on seeking political dominance, human rights abuses are on the
increase.
In the rural parts of the province, villagers were forced to form cell groups by the ruling Zanu PF
and in all this, there was a heavy involvement of traditional leaders who used their influence to
whip people to support Zanu PF.
Attempts by some opposition political parties to conduct their activities in Mudzi were
unsuccessful as the entrenched dominant Zanu PF structures shut down any operating space for
opposition political activities .
In this province, there was more intimidation, harassment and violation of political rights in April
2021 compared to the previous period, and citizens could not express themselves freely more
than ever before.
The province recorded 14 human rights violations, all of which are related to political intimidation,
harassment, assault and politically motivated discrimination during food aid distribution.
Mashonaland East is known historically to be a Zanu PF stronghold and one of the provinces
where political violence is highly prevalent during election periods.
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