Justice Rita Makarau and other Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) members surely read the newspapers and are aware that there is a bit of skulduggery going on in the run-up to the Norton by-election, even if Temba Mliswa has not complained to them. If the newspaper reports are true, can Zec say it is running a free and fair election in Norton?
By A Mbire,Our Reader
If not, then what are they doing about it? Turning the usual blind eye?
There are issues of Zanu PF using violence to disrupt Mliswa’s rallies, threats of withdrawing food aid and vote-buying by offering stands. There are surely other irregularities too, which would make the Zanu PF candidate disqualified from the by-election.
Is there any point in waiting to see if Makarau or Zec fulfil their mandate to hold free and fair elections? Or should we just resign ourselves to the fact that there will never ever be free elections in Zimbabwe and the two opposing candidates should just stop wasting their money and time in contesting this election?
