News / National
MDC-T takes electoral reforms demo to Gweru
23 Jul 2017 at 12:19hrs | Views
The Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC youths are set to stage a demo in Gweru today against the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec)'s failure to implement electoral reforms.
This comes after the youths last week held a successful demonstration in the Harare CBD, though it ended up in violent clashes with the police.
Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, MDC youth assembly chairperson, Happymore Chidziva, said they are not going to rest until Zec implements the reforms.
"Every youth must register to vote. This time around people must not be worried, we want to promise our parents as youths that their vote will be protected, we are not going to allow Zanu-PF to do what they want with our votes," he said.
Chidziva added that they were planning to stage the protests countrywide to register their displeasure with the Rita Makarau-led Zec.
"This programme will not end in towns and cities. We are even going to rural areas. If Zanu-PF thinks that they can continue to abuse our parents in rural areas, they are dreaming. We are going to every corner of Zimbabwe to liberate our country from Zanu-PF dictatorship," he said.
"We are also urging all unemployed youths to register to vote. The only solution to unemployment problem is do away with this animal called Zanu-PF. We are now determined to remove Mugabe and his corrupt system. We can only achieve this through free and fair elections. We will do all we can to ensure that the people of Zimbabwe are truly liberated."
In last week's demo, clashes between the MDC youths and heavily-armed riot police caused chaos in central Harare and innocent civilians were left stranded, as the heavy-handed law enforcement agencies randomly fired teargas, while the youths burnt cardboard boxes to block police vehicles.
The violent clashes caused most shops along Nelson Mandela Avenue, Chinhoyi Street and Angwa Street to temporarily close, as tear gas filled the air - disrupting both traffic and business in the city centre.
Meanwhile, Zec has since gone full steam with campaigns to educate the public on the much-debated biometric voter registration exercise, as the eagerly anticipated national elections fast approach.
This comes after the youths last week held a successful demonstration in the Harare CBD, though it ended up in violent clashes with the police.
Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, MDC youth assembly chairperson, Happymore Chidziva, said they are not going to rest until Zec implements the reforms.
"Every youth must register to vote. This time around people must not be worried, we want to promise our parents as youths that their vote will be protected, we are not going to allow Zanu-PF to do what they want with our votes," he said.
Chidziva added that they were planning to stage the protests countrywide to register their displeasure with the Rita Makarau-led Zec.
"We are also urging all unemployed youths to register to vote. The only solution to unemployment problem is do away with this animal called Zanu-PF. We are now determined to remove Mugabe and his corrupt system. We can only achieve this through free and fair elections. We will do all we can to ensure that the people of Zimbabwe are truly liberated."
In last week's demo, clashes between the MDC youths and heavily-armed riot police caused chaos in central Harare and innocent civilians were left stranded, as the heavy-handed law enforcement agencies randomly fired teargas, while the youths burnt cardboard boxes to block police vehicles.
The violent clashes caused most shops along Nelson Mandela Avenue, Chinhoyi Street and Angwa Street to temporarily close, as tear gas filled the air - disrupting both traffic and business in the city centre.
Meanwhile, Zec has since gone full steam with campaigns to educate the public on the much-debated biometric voter registration exercise, as the eagerly anticipated national elections fast approach.
Source - dailynews
