{"id":78925,"date":"2023-06-12T11:37:11","date_gmt":"2023-06-12T09:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/violence-and-fraud-fears-run-deep-ahead-of-crucial-zimbabwe-vote"},"modified":"2023-06-12T14:49:22","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T12:49:22","slug":"violence-and-fraud-fears-run-deep-ahead-of-crucial-zimbabwe-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/violence-and-fraud-fears-run-deep-ahead-of-crucial-zimbabwe-vote","title":{"rendered":"Violence and fraud: Fears run deep ahead of crucial Zimbabwe vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>By Anadolu Agency<\/b><\/p>\n

HARARE \u2013 Amid a biting economic crisis, the southern African country of Zimbabwe is gearing up to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in just over two months.<\/p>\n

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has set Aug. 23 as the date for nationwide voting, with Oct. 2 designated for a possible presidential runoff.<\/p>\n

The vote pits Mnangagwa, 80, who is seeking a second straight term, against Nelson Chamisa, a 45-year-old lawyer and pastor who leads the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).<\/p>\n

Apart from the president, voters will also elect lawmakers for the 350-seat parliament and some 2,000 local council members.<\/p>\n

Mnangagwa defeated Chamisa in the 2018 presidential race, a result that was disputed by the opposition and led to violent protests that killed at least six people and injured dozens more.<\/p>\n

Chamisa\u2019s claims of election manipulation and rigging were eventually dismissed by the Constitutional Court, and Mnangagwa took office promising reforms.<\/p>\n

Five years on, changes have yet to materialize and there is widespread concern that Mnangagwa and his ruling ZANU-PF party will skew the playing field in their favor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the key concerns of the opposition are around access to the voters\u2019 roll, violence, and the abuse of the electoral processes for the benefit of ZANU-PF,\u201d political analyst Rashweat Mukundu told Anadolu.<\/p>\n

The issue of voters\u2019 rolls is one that Chamisa and the CCC have raised repeatedly, demanding a thorough audit and steps to make them more accessible.<\/p>\n

Mukundu said there is a persistent fear that ZANU-PF\u2019s \u201csecurity-led civilian structures … (would) intimidate voters, especially in rural areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

That ties in with the \u201cconflation of rural and urban centers to dilute the urban vote,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Chamisa is also on record saying that the CCC stands at a disadvantage because Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF control the state media, police, other security forces and the judiciary, alleging that all of them are used to clamp down on any form of dissent.<\/p>\n

Recently, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) issued a statement regarding the \u201cmurky operations\u201d of the Forever Associates of Zimbabwe (FAZ), an organization affiliated with the ZANU-PF.<\/p>\n

It cited an instance where two people were arrested \u201cafter they allegedly engaged in a verbal altercation with FAZ members, who were stationed at some Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) polling stations … designated … as inspection centers for a voters\u2019 roll inspection exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is also criticism over a recent bill passed by parliament that proposes harsh punishments for \u201cunpatriotic acts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill, which still needs to be signed by President Mnangagwa, proposes jail sentences of up to 20 years for offenses that could include meeting representatives of a foreign country to discuss issues such as sanctions against Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges and ZANU-PF\u2019s apparent upper hand, Chamisa still has the \u201cbrightest chances to win the presidential election,\u201d according to Wurayayi Zembe, head of the opposition Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has age on his side, experience in public service and as a professional lawyer, as well as being a religious leader as a pastor. To top it all, the public perception is that Chamisa won the 2018 election,\u201d Zembe told Anadolu.<\/p>\n

He said people have no hope from Mnangagwa, who has been in positions of power for 43 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is nothing new to be expected of him. Another five years in office will just make it 48 years on the job for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Anadolu Agency HARARE \u2013 Amid a biting economic crisis, the southern African country of Zimbabwe is gearing up to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in just over two months. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has set Aug. 23 as the date for nationwide voting, with Oct. 2 designated for a possible presidential runoff. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":78924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[1493,2189,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-78925","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-files","9":"tag-africa-press","10":"tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","11":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\nViolence and fraud: Fears run deep ahead of crucial Zimbabwe vote - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Anadolu Agency HARARE \u2013 Amid a biting economic crisis, the southern African country of Zimbabwe is gearing up ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/violence-and-fraud-fears-run-deep-ahead-of-crucial-zimbabwe-vote\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Violence and fraud: Fears run deep ahead of crucial Zimbabwe vote\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Anadolu Agency HARARE \u2013 Amid a biting economic crisis, the southern African country of Zimbabwe is gearing up ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/violence-and-fraud-fears-run-deep-ahead-of-crucial-zimbabwe-vote\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-12T09:37:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-12T12:49:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2023\/06\/sm_1686557801.501159.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"864\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"486\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/violence-and-fraud-fears-run-deep-ahead-of-crucial-zimbabwe-vote\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/violence-and-fraud-fears-run-deep-ahead-of-crucial-zimbabwe-vote\",\"name\":\"Violence and fraud: Fears run deep ahead of crucial Zimbabwe vote - 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