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Zimbabweans are ready to vote for a new administration but are worried about possible manipulation of the outcome of tomorrow’s poll, believing that a large turnout at voting stations will make it impossible for incumbent leader Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Zanu-PF party to “steal” their votes.
The run-up to this election has been contentious and controversial – with the electoral body refusing to institute reforms and factor in transparency measures – but opposition parties say boycotting the poll is not an option.
The shared sentiment in Zimbabwe is that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is not ready for tomorrow’s presidential, parliamentary and local government election.
The main opposition MDC Alliance has been vocal about the shortcomings of the electoral body but on the eve of the election, other parties have also come out to declare that the framework is not going to change for the better.
“No, ZEC is not ready for a fair and free election. I don’t think they ever intended to preside over a free and fair election,” said Nkosana Moyo, a presidential aspirant fronting the Alliance for the People’s Agenda.
Another presidential contestant, Elton Mangoma, who is leading the Coalition of Democrats said there was no way tomorrow’s election was going to be free and fair.
He charged that the ZEC was an appendage of Mnangagwa’s ruling Zanu-PF party, highlighting that this election presents an opportunity for Zimbabweans to change how the country has been governed in past years.
Although the electoral framework was tilted in favour of Zanu-PF, more political parties in the country believe the vote has to go ahead, as a large turnout will help “defeat” what ZEC is planning.
“We cannot talk of ZEC’s readiness because they are not going to stage a free and fair vote. Rather it is the voters who have to be ready to come out in large numbers and vote. The people of Zimbabwe want to get rid of Zanu-PF and we have to give them a chance by participating in this election despite the one-sided playing ground,” Mangoma said.
Some Zimbabweans surveyed this week in Harare said they were concerned that the election outcome would be manipulated.
But others have been vocal in their support for Zanu-PF and Mnangagwa, saying he deserves a chance to sort out the mess created by former president Robert Mugabe.
“He helped us oust Mugabe who was a long-time problem for this country and it’s only fair he gets this chance. He has been running around and I am giving him the chance when I go to vote on Monday,” said Victor Masenda (32).
Those rooting for the opposition are having none of this, saying there is no way Mnangagwa is going to turn around the economy, a feat that he failed to undertake during his tenure as Mugabe’s deputy.
There is a concerted campaign through social media platforms for people to turn out in large numbers at voting stations.
“If voters come out in large numbers, maybe if we can have 90% turnout, then it will be difficult for the Zanu-PF plan to manipulate this election to work. They will not succeed because Zimbabweans have had enough,” Jonathan Moyo, a former finance minister under Mugabe, said.
There are about 5.6 million registered voters in Zimbabwe.
The MDC Alliance’s secretary-general, Douglas Mwonzora, says his party is confident of overcoming the incumbent; other officials from the alliance say they have put in place measures to safeguard the ballot.
Party leader Nelson Chamisa has been urging voters to sleep outside polling stations after casting their ballots and has previously told his followers that his party will announce its own results.
“This election is not going to be free and fair because we have had no access to the ballot paper and we don’t know how many have been printed. But we will triumph and we will ask our people and agents to take pictures of results from each centre and we will then do our own tallying up,” Mwonzora said this week.
The Commonwealth observer mission said the demands by the opposition were “reasonable and justifiable”.
But with no sign of ZEC levelling the polls and, with just a day to go, Zimbabweans have put their faith in their numbers.
