Harare – Nineteen people, including 10 journalists, were arrested on Thursday as Zimbabwe’s main opposition staged a protest at being excluded from preparations for the next elections.
The journalists were released without charge two hours later, while nine protesters were still being held in the capital Harare.
About 40 supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change-Alliance (MDC-Alliance) tried to enter offices of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, which was meeting on preparations for the 2023 elections.
Protesting MDC Alliance youth leaders and Journalists who were covering the protest at @ZECzim offices have been arrested. ZEC wanted to exclude @mdczimbabwe from stakeholder meetings which were scheduled today. Meeting now cancelled #NgaapindeHakeMukomana #6millionvotes4change pic.twitter.com/q9zen1hcXe
— Chalton Hwende (@hwendec) September 30, 2021
The commission has excluded the party from the pre-election meetings, which the MDC-Alliance argues puts it at a disadvantage in the runup to the polls. All other parties are allowed at the meetings.
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“The regime is panicking,” said party spokesperson Fadzai Mahere.
Other protesters scattered as police started arresting the peaceful protesters.
“There was absolutely no justification for their arrest,” said Chris Mhike of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, who represented the detained journalists.
The commission is readying voter registration and other preparations for only the second polls since Robert Mugabe was deposed in a coup in 2017.
Mugabe, who died in 2019, was deposed by his erstwhile ally Emmerson Mnangagwa.
He consolidated power after winning hotly contested elections in 2020, and has since made a series of legal changes to strengthen the presidency.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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