George Charamba, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesman has accused the US of “gross provocation.” This is in light of the recent directives from the US embassy in Harare that advocated for the removal of a restriction on by-elections, a statement he attributed to the United States being an “obvious contestant.”
After elected MDC Alliance lawmakers were recalled by the MDC-T party in a disputed court-assisted action, Zimbabwe recently has more than two dozen vacant seats in parliament and close to 100 vacant municipal seats. The MDC Alliance has been eager to reclaim the seats, but the government has prevented by-elections due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
While, the COVID-19 explanation had lost credibility, according to the US embassy, since elections were conducted in Zambia, Malawi, the United States, and subsequently South Africa during the pandemic. “This is something that we feel very passionately about… we feel democracy is very important,” US charge d’affaires and acting ambassador to Zimbabwe, Thomas Hastings said in Bulawayo last Friday.
We believe that voter registration is, without a doubt, a critical component of successful elections. That is why we are glad to see voter registration taking place in Zimbabwe, and certainly, we encourage Zimbabweans to participate.”
In a tweet on Saturday, Charamba accused the US of “gross interference in Zimbabwean politics.” According to Charamba, two MDC-Chamisa officials, one high-ranking and the other representing the youth met the US embassy in Harare’s public information section on September 21, 2021, with a request for assistance to educate and empower 50 election agents ahead of the 2023 harmonized elections.
A US embassy officer urged them to make a formal request. Meanwhile, the US embassy in Zimbabwe has been pushing for by-elections in which it is a clear rival through its hired proxy. He threatened to go a step further if the two MDC-Chamisa officials do not come out and explain themselves.
Meanwhile, the US embassy in Savannah has to be reminded that it is walking on extremely thin ice! Although by-elections must be held within 90 days of a vacancy, Charamba contended. “The constitution is for living beings, not those buried in Covid-19 cemeteries,” he said.
