Zimbabwe Human Rights Commissions (ZHRC) has urged political players to enforce peace and tolerance in the run-up to next month’s polls.
The national human rights body noted that the promotion of peace by politicians would enable a peaceful political environment for everyone.
This comes after four Bulawayo journalists were on Monday attacked by Zanu PF supporters while covering the eviction of informal traders who did not possess the ruling party’s membership cards at the Fife Avenue market.
In a statement, ZHRC urged politicians to encourage their supporters to be peaceful and to desist from engaging traditional leaders to further their political agenda.
“ZHRC calls upon various stakeholders including political parties and political actors, other Independent Commissions, Traditional Leaders, religious leaders and faith-based organisations, as well as civil society organisations to actively promote political tolerance in the build-up to the 2023 Harmonised Elections, to uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms of all citizens.”
ZHRC further encouraged the public to practice political tolerance and maturity, respect divergent views and to co-exist with one another, to avoid violating human rights and fundamental freedoms of other citizens in the pretext of supporting political parties of their choice as well as to report threats of violence or acts of violence to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) for investigations.
“ZHRC hereby exhorts all political parties to ensure political tolerance and co-existence among political rivalries to avoid monopoly in their dealings as well as to refrain from victimizing and threatening others and that their members exercise restraint in their activities by promoting political tolerance and diversity of views as well as accepting political pluralism,”
“Political parties must also ensure that their members in garnering support for their candidates desist from advocating and resorting to violence in speech and action and not to use force and threats as that has an effect of violating the rights of other individuals, must desist from interfering with other political rivalries’ right to association and assembly, desist from using Traditional Leaders to further their political interests as that is inconsistent with Section 281(2) of the Constitution and must promote peacebuilding activities in a bid to de-escalating political violence.”
