UZA snubs by-election
The United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA) will not participate in the 9 December by-elections due to several reasons, a party statement has revealed.
Led by Elzabeth Valerio, who was the only female presidential candidate in the 23 August harmonised election, the party has resolved to sit out the by-elections necessitated by the recall of CCC legislators and councillors by by self-proclaimed interim secretary general Sengezo Tshabangu.
“We do not recognise the by-elections as legitimate due to the unconstitutional and undemocratic recall of the elected representatives,” said Elvis Dzvene party spokesperson.
According to Dzvene, UZA does not have confidence in the “biased” Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), which has refused to implement any meaningful electoral reforms since the disputed 2023 harmonized elections.
“The August 2023 elections were condemned by local and international observers as neither free nor fair, yet ZEC has not addressed the issues of intimidation, militarization of staff, lack of transparency and the shambolic voters’ rolls that marred the elections.”
Moreover, the party does not believe that participating in the by-elections will advance the cause of democracy and welfare Zimbabweans.
“The by-elections appear to be a diversion from the real issues affecting the nation, such as the economic crisis, the human rights violations, the corruption and the constitutional amendments aimed at entrenching ZANU-PF dictatorship.”
ZEC revealed last week that the election will gobble 5 million United States Dollars, a significant amount in a country without a functional health system and facing a myriad of other economic challenges.
“This is an unacceptable and irresponsible waste of resources that could be better used for national development and service delivery in our country at a time when we are facing a Cholera outbreak, severe shortages of essential drugs, medical equipment and medical personnel.”
As a way forward, UZA recommends “a comprehensive and inclusive dialogue” to address the root causes of the political crisis and implement meaningful reforms.
“This is not a call for a government of national unity, but a sincere and genuine negotiation aimed at restoring trust and stability before the situation escalates to another 2018.”
The Nomination Court sat on November the 7th to allow aspiring candidates to file their papers for the hastily arranged December 9 elections.
