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Auxilia Katongomara, Sunday News Reporter
The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) has engaged political parties with representation in Parliament to formulate strategies for a peaceful campaign and violent free environment ahead of the forthcoming harmonised elections.
The Commission, chaired by retired Justice Sello Nare on Thursday met representatives from three political parties namely Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC. In a statement, Commissioner Charles Masunungure said they met the political parties to discuss strategies for collaboration on promoting peace in the run up to the upcoming elections.
“Chairperson of the Commission Retired Justice Sello Nare said that the Commission recognised that the political parties are critical players in promoting peace, unity and social cohesion and hence had decided to engage them to establish collaboration and the political parties applauded the NPRC initiative to engage the political parties and pledged to fully co-operate and support the upcoming programmes of the Commission,” said Comm Masunungure.
He said MDC-T secretary general Mr Douglas Mwonzora informed the NPRC that as the parties in Parliament they were already involved in a programme of inter-party dialogue that seeks to find national solutions.
“As part of these efforts, the parties recently completed a draft Code of Conduct for political parties working in consultation with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. The Code has since been handed to the Ministry of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs with a view to incorporate it into the Electoral Amendment Act currently being considered in Parliament,” Mr Mwonzora told the Commission.
MDC secretary general Ms Miriam Mushayi said the dialogue platform that the parties had established would complement the work of the NPRC in peaceful resolution of political conflict.
Zanu-PF Director of Administration Retired Col Cde Dickson Dzora implored the NPRC to set up structures at local levels to ensure community dialogue resulting in the prevention, management and resolution of conflict at the grassroots.
The Commission has stated previously that it would engage all political parties and it would subpoena perpetrators of violence to account for their deeds.
The NPRC which is a product of the constitution has a mandate of promoting peace, national healing and conflict resolution in the country.
Justice Nare said they were encouraging political players to ensure that their supporters desist from both inter and intra party violence during the campaign and election period.
“We are having issues of intra party violence so this commission is also mandated to ensure that there is dialogue. We encourage political parties to engage in dialogue and find meaningful solutions as a way of conflict resolution,” he said.
Commissioner Leslie Ncube said there would be a unit within the NPRC that will focus on dialogue with all the parties.
“We will have a unit that will focus on intra party dialogues as a way of finding meaningful relations. Our elections historically have been marred by violence but we will robustly move as a Commission to engage political parties to desist from intra and inter party violence because this has been a bigger pattern in Zimbabwe.
“Even the usage of hate speech and divisive speech especially on ethnic grounds. We should desist from it,” he said. — @AuxiliaK
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