‘Polls must be held by June 29’

 

The comments were triggered by reports of disagreement among parties in Government on when the polls should be held.
Zanu-PF wants the elections to be held by June 29 when the life of Parliament comes to an end while the MDC formations that some observers said are already smelling defeat, want the elections to be held in August at the earliest or in September after the United Nations World Tourism Organisation Assembly.

In an interview, political analyst Mr Goodwine Mureriwa said it was imperative that the elections be held as a matter of urgency.
“If you look at the life of the inclusive Government you will realise that it has been marred by discord on important issues that affect national development so we cannot prolong its life longer.

“The three parties agree that the union is unholy so I see no reason why it should subsist beyond June 29 which is when it should legally end.
“All those people who are talking of extension are maybe afraid to lose the election because people are now clear on what they want especially with regards to ownership of resources,” Mr Mureriwa said.

Midlands State University lecturer Dr Nhamo Mhiripiri, echoed similar sentiments saying the elections where necessary to bring policy stability.
“What we need at the moment is a government that will have clearly laid out policies that will make planning easier. There are also legal requirements that we should uphold so it is necessary that the elections be held as soon as possible.

“One would, however, hope that the parties would be committed to a peaceful environment that would ensure we do not get unnecessary attention from outsiders,” he said.
Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo said the revolutionary party would not accept continued delays in holding the polls.
“We are not going to accept anything that is meant to keep postponing the elections. We know they want to enjoy the status of being ministers at the UNWTO something which they do not deserve. We want elections well before the UNWTO,” he said.

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MDC-T secretary general Mr Tendai Biti recently said his party would want the elections to be held by mid August after the implementation of so called outstanding issues.
MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora said the inclusive Government could not go beyond its lifespan in June but also emphasised on the implementation of the so called reforms.

“The position of the MDC-T is very clear that elections should be held before the UNWTO but the key issues relating to electoral reforms must have been implemented.
“Our understanding is that the GNU (Government of National Unity) expires before the UNWTO, so the view of the MDC-T is that the elections should at the latest be held immediately after expiry of the GNU which we think is possible before the UNWTO.”

However, MDC director for policy and implementation Mr Qhubani Moyo, said it was not feasible to have the harmonised polls before the tourism event.
He said there was no need to hurry processes just for the sake of conducting the elections.
“The main thing is about aligning the new electoral laws to the new constitution (if adopted),” he said.

“We need to ensure that we capacitate institutions created by the new constitution in order for them to carry out their mandates.
“For us the most practical time for the elections is September not because of the UNWTO but the timelines of the things that need to be done. These things clearly point to the fact that we will go as far as August,” he said.

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