Opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) and ZAPU have bemoaned the uneven political field ahead of next month’s by-elections.
Zimbabweans will on March 26 go to the mini polls to fill 28 parliamentary and over 100 council seats that have fallen vacant for the past two years.
With the campaigns heating up, CCC and ZAPU have decried the bumpy political field which they say is skewed in favour of the ruling ZANU-PF party.
ZANU-PF launched the campaign for its candidates last week while the one CCC is pencilled for the weekend in Harare.
“The political field is not level,” decried CCC Midlands provincial spokesperson, Dr Takavafira Zhou.
“ZANU-PF has weaponised covid-19 to its advantage carrying out district and provincial congresses, carrying unfettered rallies with no disturbances from state security operatives while CCC has been restricted from conducting rallies for 100 people as stipulated by covid restrictions with arrests of supporters as has been the case in Gweru recently where six party supporters were arrested.”
He added: “In Kwekwe central the CCC campaign car was impounded by police and supporters threatened. In Gokwe and Mberengwa police have threatened CCC supporters for merely wearing party regalia.”
In the Midlands five constituencies, namely Gokwe Central, Kwekwe Central, Mberengwa South, Mbizo and Mkoba are up for grabs.
“The political field will never be level,” said ZAPU spokesperson, Msongelwa Ndlovu
“In fact, our aspirations as ZAPU are correcting that not by pushing for a level field but by ensuring that ZANU-PF is stopped from presiding over the field itself and by ensuring that ZANU-PF is removed from power and Zimbabweans must understand that should they want a level political field then ZANU-PF must be removed from the political matrix of the country.”
He said expecting a level political field with ZANU-PF involved is like looking forward to a miracle.
“That is not going to happen. We have complained for years now about political, social and economic reforms before elections but expecting that ZANU-PF will cooperate in advancing those reforms is a mere impossibility because doing so will be reforming themselves out of power,” said Ndlovu.
“We are not going to push ZANU-PF to govern us better but we are pushing ZANU-PF to be removed from power so that people who take over will govern with a consensus of the governed.”
However, ZANU-PF on Monday claimed that its members were attacked and injured in Bulawayo while doing their campaign.
