Opinion / Columnist
ED delivering a most peaceful election
10 May 2018 at 04:08hrs | Views
The election season is upon us. Already, all candidates are in full swing preparing for the historic election, the first without Robert Mugabe in 38 years, and without Morgan Tsvangirai in 18 years. Historic also about the election is the presence of a new voters roll management system, the Biometric Voter Registration System.
The Biometric Voter Registration System has been commended across the political terrain and by independent political watchers as a foolproof election management system that leaves no voter or political contestant disenfranchised. Peculiar too about this election is the most touted contestant's pledge to establishing and maintaining peace before, during and after the election. The incumbent, His Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is the Zanu PF presidential candidate, has a lot of stakes to control and it calls for a lot of self restraint and political maturity to honour his pledge.
General elections are scheduled to be held in Zimbabwe in July to elect the President and members of both houses of Parliament. According to the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the elections must be held before the official expiry date of the current parliamentary term, which is due to end on 21 August 2018. Alongside this, the country will also elect 1959 councillors on the same date.
The 2018 election must have come and gone by the end of July. Now that we are already in May, the peace and order in the country is very remarkable. It is not uncommon for African elections to start showing signs of political hostilities among the contestants, even a year away from the poll date. Having such tranquillity 90 days short of the election date is a commendable feat reflective of the political maturity carried by the President, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The President is on record for saying he would respect the people's will and hand the reins of power to whoever wins the election, whether it be Egypt Dzinemunhenzva, Nkosana Moyo or Jealousy Mawarire. "The Voice of the People is the Voice of God," bellowed the newly installed President of Zimbabwe to the world on 24 November 2017 at the National Sports Stadium in Harare. The level of tolerance and respect to his political opponents is the political maturity Zimbabwe badly needs and has come at a very useful time.
Life begins at forty, so as the country crawls towards its fortieth anniversary, the arrival of the ED brand of politics is a turning point for the country. He has shown that one's political contestant in democracy is by no means an enemy, but an important stakeholder in the delivery of democracy. As the first citizen of the country, it becomes useful for other political leaders of the scores of political parties in the country to emulate the road travelled by the president ahead of the 2018 poll.
As if there is no election in 90 days, the President is in Qatar, fronting the interest of every citizen, including that of opposition political party leaders. He has chosen to champion the interest of the remote future instead of looking at the next 100 days alone. The reality of his journey is that whatever fruits will be reaped from it will come well after the election, and whoever wins it will be a beneficiary of his mature leadership.
Had President Mnangagwa been bereft of the mature brand of politics, he would today be tucked between the borders of Zimbabwe, engineering the election process using every trick inside and outside the book. Reflected in his steadfast and sober approach to the impending election is his confidence of dwarfing all his contestants in the decisive race to the top job.
There has been a lot of disquiet over the need for a national healing process and the Government has positively responded to this by establishing a Commission to lead this process. President Mnangagwa has ably staffed this Commission with the chairpersonship of Retired Justice Selo Masole Nare. In the spirit of national healing and peace-building, Government has steered the national political mood into tranquillity much to the admiration of the international community. Zimbabwe is going to become a shining example of how to manage political processes peacefully.
Events of November 2017 can be another important precedence through which the African community can take lessons from. Though President Mnangagwa's life was under threat prior to his assumption of power, his return and assumption of power has been unexpectedly and desirably peaceful, reflecting that the man is a real peace warrior.
I smell a Nobel Peace Prize in the air!
The Biometric Voter Registration System has been commended across the political terrain and by independent political watchers as a foolproof election management system that leaves no voter or political contestant disenfranchised. Peculiar too about this election is the most touted contestant's pledge to establishing and maintaining peace before, during and after the election. The incumbent, His Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is the Zanu PF presidential candidate, has a lot of stakes to control and it calls for a lot of self restraint and political maturity to honour his pledge.
General elections are scheduled to be held in Zimbabwe in July to elect the President and members of both houses of Parliament. According to the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the elections must be held before the official expiry date of the current parliamentary term, which is due to end on 21 August 2018. Alongside this, the country will also elect 1959 councillors on the same date.
The 2018 election must have come and gone by the end of July. Now that we are already in May, the peace and order in the country is very remarkable. It is not uncommon for African elections to start showing signs of political hostilities among the contestants, even a year away from the poll date. Having such tranquillity 90 days short of the election date is a commendable feat reflective of the political maturity carried by the President, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The President is on record for saying he would respect the people's will and hand the reins of power to whoever wins the election, whether it be Egypt Dzinemunhenzva, Nkosana Moyo or Jealousy Mawarire. "The Voice of the People is the Voice of God," bellowed the newly installed President of Zimbabwe to the world on 24 November 2017 at the National Sports Stadium in Harare. The level of tolerance and respect to his political opponents is the political maturity Zimbabwe badly needs and has come at a very useful time.
Life begins at forty, so as the country crawls towards its fortieth anniversary, the arrival of the ED brand of politics is a turning point for the country. He has shown that one's political contestant in democracy is by no means an enemy, but an important stakeholder in the delivery of democracy. As the first citizen of the country, it becomes useful for other political leaders of the scores of political parties in the country to emulate the road travelled by the president ahead of the 2018 poll.
As if there is no election in 90 days, the President is in Qatar, fronting the interest of every citizen, including that of opposition political party leaders. He has chosen to champion the interest of the remote future instead of looking at the next 100 days alone. The reality of his journey is that whatever fruits will be reaped from it will come well after the election, and whoever wins it will be a beneficiary of his mature leadership.
Had President Mnangagwa been bereft of the mature brand of politics, he would today be tucked between the borders of Zimbabwe, engineering the election process using every trick inside and outside the book. Reflected in his steadfast and sober approach to the impending election is his confidence of dwarfing all his contestants in the decisive race to the top job.
There has been a lot of disquiet over the need for a national healing process and the Government has positively responded to this by establishing a Commission to lead this process. President Mnangagwa has ably staffed this Commission with the chairpersonship of Retired Justice Selo Masole Nare. In the spirit of national healing and peace-building, Government has steered the national political mood into tranquillity much to the admiration of the international community. Zimbabwe is going to become a shining example of how to manage political processes peacefully.
Events of November 2017 can be another important precedence through which the African community can take lessons from. Though President Mnangagwa's life was under threat prior to his assumption of power, his return and assumption of power has been unexpectedly and desirably peaceful, reflecting that the man is a real peace warrior.
I smell a Nobel Peace Prize in the air!
Source - Chigumbu Warikandwa
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