#BYELECTION
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It is unfortunate that in the run
up to the 2018 elections, there
were no recorded fatalities, but
in 2018, ZPP recorded three
deaths in Chegutu, Chaona, and
in Kwekwe.
On March 6, at Peak Stone mine
in Chegutu, an artisanal miner
was killed during a fight over
gold ore. William Banda
succumbed to knife wounds
after his mining gang clashed
with another group aligned to
Zanu PF and is led by a man
only identified as Baba Mishy or
Kuda.
In Mazowe North constituency,
Mashonaland Central, a Zanu PF
central committee member,
John Nhamburo, allegedly
deliberately ran over CCC
activist Shelton Zongoro with
his vehicle killing him on the
spot. Zongoro was returning
from casting his vote in Chaona.
In Kwekwe, Mboneni Ncube
succumbed to stab wounds
after Zanu PF youths attacked a
rally that Chamisa was
addressing end of February.
Many other activists suffered
serious injuries.
ZPP noted that the campaign
trail turned nasty ahead of the
March 26 by-elections as the
police banned some rallies
organised by the CCC party in
Marondera, Gokwe and Binga
under unclear circumstances.
Across the provinces, ZPP
recorded an increase in
politically motivated human
rights violations with mostly the
CCC supporters being targeted
by either state security agents
or Zanu PF activists.
The MDC Alliance, did not win a
single parliamentary or council
seat despite a hyped campaign,
and the CCC and Zanu PF
retained most of the seats, with
Zanu PF snatching two
constituencies – Epworth and
Mutasa South that had been in
the hands of the opposition.
This pattern of results, has set
the tone for more political
tension and ZPP continues to
record isolated incidents of
people being targeted for
having supported CCC in the
run up to the election.
In Dangamvura-Chikanga and
Bindura North, losing Zanu PF
candidates went around
demanding back the mealiemeal they doled out to people
during the campaign period
while in Kwekwe, some vendors
have been evicted from their
stalls after Judith Tobaiwa of
the CCC romped to victory in
Kwekwe Central National
Assembly election.
At Chikurubi Maximum Prison
in Harare East, prison wardens
are being victimised after
Tendai Biti of the CCC got more
votes than his losing rival,
Mavis Gumbo in votes cast in
the camp polling station. With
the 2023 elections less than 18
months away, the campaign
period has continued post byelections as Zanu PF and CCC
get down to consolidate their
support based on how they
fared on March 26.
As ZPP had predicted, the
March 26 elections are proving
to be the litmus test for the
Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission and political
parties.
For ZEC, the allegations that the
voters roll was tampered with
and high number of voters
being turned away with up to
25 people at some polling
stations indeed prove that the
electoral body needs to be more
transparent and efficient in
managing the roll.
The allegations that ZEC denied
access to the voters roll to the
CCC and provided one with
pictures and all the biometrics
to Zanu PF shows how the
electoral body is not impartial
and ahead of 2023, there is
need for the organisation to
treat all political parties equally.
The reports that ZPP captured
of ZEC officers training only
Zanu PF polling agents for the
first two days of training
polling agents in Mwenezi are
an indictment on the electoral
body.
In two incidents, in Kadoma and
Mutare, Zanu PF activists were
singing party songs near polling
stations and nothing happened
to them, exposing the partisan
nature of the police who did not
make the necessary arrests.
In Mutare Central, Zanu PF
supporters and their candidates
were milling near polling
stations wearing Zanu PF regalia
chanting party slogans, a day
before the March 26 elections.
One Bepete a Mutare Central
Ward 4 Zanu PF candidate and
one Mudembe a Zanu PF
member for Mutare Central
Ward 5, allegedly ganged up
and went around all polling
stations threatening to destroy
ballot boxes in the presence of
police officers.
In Kadoma as well on election
day eve, Zanu PF supporters
were singing all night as they
went around polling stations
the Ward 13 where a council
election was due to be held.