Zanu-PF, MDC-T, CCC make pledge for peaceful election campaigns

Representatives of the country's three main political parties have pledged their parties' commitment to observing peace ahead and beyond the country's harmonised elections due August 23 this year.

The three representatives – from Zanu-PF, CCC, and MDC-T – made the verbal pledges at a recent political parties-media meeting that was facilitated by peace-based NGO, 4H Zimbabwe.

In a bid to break the cycle of violence that has marred political contestation in the country, 4H Zimbabwe, which has facilitated several peace-based sports and arts initiatives among youths from major political parties, brought representatives from the three parties who all denounced violence and further chorused their formations' commitment to observing peace.

Farai Marapira, a Zanu-PF official who works in the party's information department, emphasised the need to dump the culture of violence in place of sustainable peace.

"In view of these elections that are upon us, as Zanu-PF, we would like to encourage all and sundry, regardless of political affiliation, to exercise peace and restraint as we engage each other," he said.

"I am here to also reiterate the message by our president and first secretary President Emmerson Mnangagwa who has said that we should have peace, peace, peace and more tolerance to one another.

"So, I encourage all of us as Zimbabweans to tolerate one another, to engage one another and to find peace."

Marapira added, "A difference in ideology, a difference of ideas can only make us stronger, it does not make us weaker.

"So, let us come together as one with our differences and build a better Zimbabwe."

Speaking at the same event, CCC youth assembly spokesperson Stephen Chuma called for platforms to allow victims of past political violence to pour out their suppressed anger as part of the healing process.

"If we want genuine peace and real peace and practical peace in this country, but we run away from the truth and just want reconciliation, we have not started," he said.

"It's important to let the people pour out their experiences, let them speak about their feelings.

"If we choose to bottle them up and say let's not talk about that one because we will be pointing fingers, let's just talk about unity and peace, then, I tell you, we are going to have another scenario of the late leaders Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo where they lifted hands in unity but still in Matebeleland the people have not yet healed.

"Honestly, it doesn't make sense to come here and we speak about peace but (later) when I go through my phone, the next thing is that someone in Murewa has been assaulted or has his leg cut.

"It means we are wasting our effort and time if we cannot address, as leaders the issues of violence. So, yes, we need peace whether you are Zanu-PF or CCC.

"We need a society where people speak their minds freely and not have repercussions after saying things, of course we do not encourage hate speech, we have seen what happened in Rwanda."

Obert Gutu, spokesperson for the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC), expressed delight at the sight of political parties dialoguing and calling for peace and unity.

"I am happy that I have witnessed dialogue amongst political contenders," Gutu said.

"I hope that as time goes on, we will be able to engage more in a battle of ideas, not a battle of who has more brawn than brains, who can beat each other better than the other.

"This is the Zimbabwe we want to build which is a battleground of ideas and not a battleground of insults, vulgarity and all sorts of things that do not speak to developing us as a nation."