Chronicle Editor
ON Wednesday Zimbabweans from different parts of the country will troop to polling stations to exercise their democratic right to elect a president, members of parliament, and councillors.
It is important to note that the run up to the elections has been characterised by campaigns that have been majorly peaceful with political parties going about their business of mobilising the electorate without any disturbing incidents, which is what democracy is all about.
The peaceful pre-election period obviously shamed the country’s detractors who are always waiting on the wings to throw mud on our electoral process. We have witnessed political tolerance and enthusiasm by the political players and members of the public, particularly during the ruling Zanu-PF rallies which have drawn huge unprecedented crowds, itself a sign of democracy at play.
As the more than 6,6 million registered voters take to the various polling stations around the country on Wednesday, it is our hope that our people would go for a tried and tested leadership, a revolutionary party that has always carried the aspirations of its people, a party that brought freedom to this country after a protracted war with a stubborn colonial administration. That party is Zanu-PF.
Buoyed by the resounding success of the Second Republic’s economic policies which have been anchored on the substitution of imports, successful mining and agricultural activities as well as infrastructure development among others, Zanu-PF has exhibited a positive energy, and an aggressive appetite to mobilise communities around development through implementation of devolution which is a constitutional provision.
The Second Republic’s impressive economic policies have been made possible by the formulation and implementation of the deliberate economic blueprint, National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which provided for the transformation of the economy towards an upper middle-class society by 2030.
Through such policies it is obvious that Zanu-PF as the party that fought for the liberation of this country is seeking a Zimbabwe that is proud of itself as displayed through the philosophy “nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo”.
Zanu-PF also seeks a country that asserts its sovereignty over its resources, culture and its domestic affairs. That is contrary to the naivety displayed by the so-called main opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) that even shamelessly plagiarised the Zanu-PF policies and achievements by including them in its manifesto.
Zanu-PF therefore goes to the Wednesday polls in a much stronger position what with the crowds witnessed at its provincial star rallies that have been addressed by President Mnangagwa, the deliverables on the economic front by the Second Republic such as the more than 7 000 high impact projects established in infrastructure, capital development, innovation, devolution and decentralisation, taming power outages through the rehabilitation of units 7 and 8 in Hwange, modernisation of ports of entry to world class standards, rehabilitating thousands of kilometres of roads across the country including the Beitbridge-Chirundu Highway to mention just a few of the projects.
It is therefore evident through the mobilisation exercise by the ruling party that Zimbabweans are happy with its people-friendly policies and there is no doubt that the revolutionary party’s presidential candidate, President Mnangagwa and his candidates at the National Assembly as well as local government would romp to victory. This is because the opposition is in sixes and sevens and has failed to come up with convincing policies and messages that can sway the hearts of voters to its side.
In fact, the Second Republic has done more than enough for the people that it would take one to move mountains to outfox Zanu-PF in this electoral race.
However, we also take this opportunity to advise our fellow citizens that in exercising their right to vote they should be peaceful before, during, and after the announcement of results.
They must always remember that while parties and individual politicians contest for political power — giving rise to losers and winners in the contest, the real loser if elections degenerate into violence will be Zimbabwe and the consequences of this will be felt in their communities.
Online Reporter