Zanu-PF calls for calm

Zanu-PF has urged Zimbabweans to remain peaceful and allow the courts to do their job without hindrance when the Constitutional Court sits today to hear an election petition by MDC-Alliance leader, Mr Nelson Chamisa, who is challenging President Mnangagwa's victory in the July 30 harmonised polls.

Ruling party secretary for Security in the Politburo, Lovemore Matuke said the petition by Mr Chamisa was an attempt to rob Zanu-PF and its Presidential candidate in the just-ended polls of a deserved electoral victory.

Matuke warned that all parties to the election petition were supposed to respect the court's final decision on the matter and allow the nation to move forward. The Zanu-PF Politburo member and Senator-elect reiterated that the ruling party would never interfere with the operations of the Judiciary emphasising the need to respect the courts.

"Our appeal to the people of Zimbabwe in general and our supporters in Zanu-PF is that they must remain calm and peaceful and allow the courts to make a decision on the petition by the MDC-Alliance which will be heard tomorrow (today) at the Constitutional Court.

"Our supporters must be patient and allow the courts to do their job, as Zanu-PF we respect the courts and we will not interfere with their operations and we hope all the parties will respect and be bound by the decision of the court," said Matuke.

He accused the MDC-Alliance of simply trying to spoil the "soup" for Zimbabweans by mounting an electoral challenge against President Mnangagwa's deserved victory in the courts. Matuke said Mr Chamisa in his pre-election campaign messages to his supporters openly said his party would only accept an election outcome where the MDC-Alliance emerged as the winner.

"We feel what the MDC-Alliance is doing is merely driven by selfish interests because besides relentless attacks and threats on the Judiciary, senior leaders of that party made it very clear several times that they will only accept an electoral outcome where they were declared winners.

"One wonders why they partook in an election where only one outcome was the only option. Democracy calls that the loser should be magnanimous in defeat."

The Zanu-PF Politburo member said it was clear from the onset that the MDC-Alliance was pursuing a selfish agenda and wanted to hold the country hostage by refusing to accept defeat in the just-ended polls.

"It is clear for all to see that the MDC-Alliance wants to hold the country hostage by derailing plans for Zimbabwe to move forward. The obtaining delay in forming a new Government by Zanu-PF which won the elections is something that was pre-planned.

"The petition is an attempt to rob Zanu-PF of its deserved victory in the elections," said Matuke. Matuke said the MDC-Alliance's primary goal was to make the people of Zimbabwe suffer for choosing the path of self-determination and rejecting political parties that were surrogates of neo-imperial forces.

The Zanu-PF Politburo member said the extension of a United States sanctions regime on Zimbabwe at the instigation of the MDC-Alliance and leaders was instructive on the role played by the opposition party to cause unjustified suffering of Zimbabweans.

"Their (MDC-Alliance) whole scheme revolves around making sure Zimbabweans suffer for standing firm on the decision to be masters of their own destiny.

"The opposition (MDC-Alliance) asked for sanctions to be imposed on Zimbabwe and the Americans recently extended them despite the country staging peaceful polls."

Matuke urged Zimbabweans to remain steadfast and persevere while embarking on the painstaking process of rebuilding the country's economy. Zanu-PF through its secretary for Finance in the Politburo Patrick Chinamasa has already warned Mr Chamisa against interfering with the judicial processes ahead of today's hearing of the petition in which the MDC-Alliance leader is challenging President Mnangagwa's electoral victory at the Constitutional Court.