News / Local
'Zanu-PF scared of losing'
18 Aug 2023 at 07:00hrs | Views
Zanu-PF yesterday admitted that it is afraid of losing elections scheduled for next Wednesday after skirting questions about accepting election results if the poll outcome favours the opposition.
Addressing a Press conference in the capital, party spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa was non-committal after being asked several times by journalists if Zanu-PF was going to accept election results.
"We don't dream about losing," Mutsvangwa said.
"In fact we are afraid of losing, that is why we have beenworking so hard trying to convince the electors to vote for us.
"We have been courting investors because we are afraid of losing.
"We cannot lose elections because there are comrades who sacrificed their lives for the ruling party. We don't think about losing, winning is our DNA."
Opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa last week said he might not accept election results after alleging a plot to rig the polls.
Chamisa, who is one of the 11 presidential candidates, said the 2018 polls in which President Emmerson Mnangagwa was announced a winner with a narrow margin, were rigged.
The CCC challenged Mnangagwa's victory at the Constitutional Court, but the apex court ruled in favour of the Zanu-PF leader.
The opposition has, however, bemoaned the unfair electoral playing field ahead of the elections saying there is an elaborate ploy to rig the polls.
Mutsvangwa then turned to foreign election observers saying they should stay away from meddling in the country's affairs.
"We are happy that the Americans have agreed to be neutral as they observe these elections so that they respect the Zimbabwean democracy," Mutsvangwa said.
"They have agreed not to undermine the State processes [undertaken] by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) because it's a professional body that executes its mandate accordingly.
"There are certain organisations here in Zimbabwe meant to move the agenda of the opposition, but are not substitutes of election observers we have approved as a government. We cannot be taught democracy."
He added: "We are happy to learn on how we can improve our electoral processes from the assessment by observers, but we can't allow them to undermine us because we know our sovereign status as an organised people.
"We are happy with the European Union position of not having clouded judgement, they are observers not monitors."
Mutsvangwa said Zanu-PF was not worried about the voters roll.
"Opposition has always had issues with Zec but it's wrong. In the digital era everything is now electronic, registration can be viewed online. Numbers in the registry are known, so they should tally with the votes," he said.
Addressing a Press conference in the capital, party spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa was non-committal after being asked several times by journalists if Zanu-PF was going to accept election results.
"We don't dream about losing," Mutsvangwa said.
"In fact we are afraid of losing, that is why we have beenworking so hard trying to convince the electors to vote for us.
"We have been courting investors because we are afraid of losing.
"We cannot lose elections because there are comrades who sacrificed their lives for the ruling party. We don't think about losing, winning is our DNA."
Opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa last week said he might not accept election results after alleging a plot to rig the polls.
Chamisa, who is one of the 11 presidential candidates, said the 2018 polls in which President Emmerson Mnangagwa was announced a winner with a narrow margin, were rigged.
The CCC challenged Mnangagwa's victory at the Constitutional Court, but the apex court ruled in favour of the Zanu-PF leader.
Mutsvangwa then turned to foreign election observers saying they should stay away from meddling in the country's affairs.
"We are happy that the Americans have agreed to be neutral as they observe these elections so that they respect the Zimbabwean democracy," Mutsvangwa said.
"They have agreed not to undermine the State processes [undertaken] by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) because it's a professional body that executes its mandate accordingly.
"There are certain organisations here in Zimbabwe meant to move the agenda of the opposition, but are not substitutes of election observers we have approved as a government. We cannot be taught democracy."
He added: "We are happy to learn on how we can improve our electoral processes from the assessment by observers, but we can't allow them to undermine us because we know our sovereign status as an organised people.
"We are happy with the European Union position of not having clouded judgement, they are observers not monitors."
Mutsvangwa said Zanu-PF was not worried about the voters roll.
"Opposition has always had issues with Zec but it's wrong. In the digital era everything is now electronic, registration can be viewed online. Numbers in the registry are known, so they should tally with the votes," he said.
Source - newsday
