Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday called for peace as the country prepares for general elections, reported The Africa News.
During his state of the Nation Address, Mnangagwa urged political parties to not engage in any kind of political violence, adding that the people of Zimbabwe are expected to vote freely.
“Political players seeking the people’s mandate during the upcoming 2023 harmonized general elections must maintain and consolidate the current peace, unity, harmony and love that we have built under the Second Republic,” the Zimbabwean president said adding that violent confrontations have never been part of the country’s culture.
Last month, Zimbabwe’s ruling party, ZANU-PF, endorsed the president as its candidate for next year’s presidential election. The 80-year-old, Mnangagwa, came to power in 2017 after the army toppled long-time ruler Robert Mugabe in a coup. In 2018 Mnangagwa won disputed elections that his main opponent Nelson Chamisa claimed that the results were rigged to hand him power.
The election commission has not yet declared any date for the presidential election but the vote is expected in the first half of 2023. Earlier this week, the European Union (EU) handed over €6 million (US$5.9 million) to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in support of preparations for general elections next year.
Speaking before lawmakers, Mnangagwa also reiterated calls for an end to economic sanctions. He said that the need for the unconditional removal of sanctions, which have constrained socio economic growth for decades, is urgent and imperative.
The Zimbabwean president gave the statement on Wednesday when he officially opened the Fifth Session of the 9th Parliament of Zimbabwe at the new parliament building in Harare. The new parliament building has been built by a China-based company at a cost of over US$200 million.
In related news, the Zimbabwe government has also approved a proposed law that seeks to punish ‘unpatriotic” citizens. The proposed law, to be known as the Patriotic Act, would be modelled along United States’ Logan Act.
