Harare – The head of Zimbabwe’s leading opposition party has called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to set a date for national elections after weeks of uncertainty and flip-flops.
Zimbabweans are to head to the polls in what is predicted to be a tense general vote later this year but Mnangagwa is yet to announce a date.
The vote was initially expected in August.
The president’s main rival, Nelson Chamisa, said on Tuesday his party was ready, other than the lack of clarity around the election schedule.
“The only concern is Mr Mnangagwa who continues to duck and dive on the days of the election,” Chamisa, who leads the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party, told journalists in Harare.
“People have to plan, some have to ask for leave days, some are in the diaspora have to come back…we also have to plan.”
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On Saturday, Mnangagwa was quoted as saying a date would be made public on Monday, but the day passed with no news.
On Monday evening, the president’s spokesperson told local media all he could say was that the “election proclamation” was to be announced “in due course”.
“We are not as disorganised as Mr Mnangagwa so we want these dates to be known ahead of time and in advance,” Chamisa said.
Under Zimbabwe’s laws the president has to communicate a date at least 90 days before the vote upon consulting with election authorities.
Chamisa, 45, addressed journalists in the capital’s working-class suburb of Kuwadzana, as he checked whether his name was correctly listed on the voters’ roll.
Opposition parties cried foul on Monday after many voters, including some senior politicians, said they had been removed or misplaced on the list.
Mnangagwa, who replaced long-time ruler Robert Mugabe in 2017, faces widespread discontent as he struggles to ease entrenched poverty, end chronic power cuts and economic hardships.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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