|
Back to Index
Minimum conditions for elections: Chitungwiza residents air their
views
Heal Zimbabwe
Trust
April 10, 2012
Politicians
in Zimbabwe seem adamant on holding elections this year and this
is causing unnecessary political tension especially in rural areas.
Cases of political violence have been on the increase as a result.
Informed by this, Heal Zimbabwe continue to hold public consultative
meetings with residents and villagers on their expectations of what
should be done before any call for elections in the country. On
5 April, 2012, residents of St Mary's Chitungwiza gathered
at Huruyadzo Hall and deliberated on the minimum conditions for
holding free, fair and peaceful elections in Zimbabwe.
The outcomes
of the public meetings from all provinces will be combined together
and used to lobby the Government to make necessary reforms before
any elections are held. It is Heal Zimbabwe's contention that
people should not be forced into elections before necessary reforms
are done as this leads to loss of innocent lives through political
violence as evidenced by the 2008 political
violence which led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent people,
thousands injured and displaced. These atrocities should be avoided
by all means possible hence the need for reforms before any call
for elections.
Below are some
of the views brought out during the meeting:
- The police
should be impartial in conducting their duties and should investigate
to arrest rather than the other way round as this has led to the
persecution of many political activists in the hands of the police.
- People from
all political parties should come together in fighting political
violence. They must put their political differences aside and
let the spirit of "Ubuntu" take precedence.
- All perpetrators
of political violence should be arrested including political leaders
dating back to as early as 1980 and there should be no selective
application of the law.
- The international
community should send out peace keeping forces to ensure elections
are peaceful and also oversee a smooth transfer of power to the
winner after the elections.
- Everyone
should be given an opportunity to check his/her name in the voters
roll and new voters should be given amble time to register before
the election date.
- The JOMIC
and Organ on National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration
should play their part of ensuring there is peace and political
tolerance in the country rather than moving around in big expensive
cars doing absolutely nothing on the ground.
- Every political
party should be allowed to campaign freely without any restrictions
and should be given enough access to the media rather than the
current monopoly by one political party.
Visit the Heal
Zimbabwe fact
sheet
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
