ZCTU calls for early deployment of foreign poll observers

THE Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has called for an early deployment of Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and other international election monitors and observers as political violence spikes across the country ahead of next year's general elections.

In a statement, ZCTU secretary-general Japhet Moyo accused some political party leaders of being insincere on addressing political violence, warning that this was diminishing hope of free and fair elections.

"We call for the early deployment of elections observers from Sadc and the international community to monitor the environment right from the voter registration process until after the announcement of the election results," Moyo said.

"Observers usually come at the last minute, but we need them to be here now since campaigning has already started with some political parties using unorthodox means to garner support for their candidates."

The monitoring and observation of elections, he said, was not just a one-day event, but a long-term process to allow observers to come up with a holistic election assessment.

Moyo challenged the police to stop selective application of the law, but arrest perpetrators of violence regardless of political affiliation.

"Zimbabweans need to go to the polls under a peaceful environment," he said.

"We also demand that political leadership in Zimbabwe place the interests of the masses above their narrow political interests and commit themselves to defending and maintaining democracy, peace, security and stability."

The ZCTU boss said the re-emergence of politically-motivated violence could have been avoided had the country gone through a "honest process of justice and reconciliation", with reparations paid for violent incidents of the past. "The lack of security, State institutions and media reforms has also not helped the matter because we continue to see traces of institutionalised violence and hate speech," he said.