Anglistone Sibanda, a Zimbabwean peace activist, pastor and businessman has expressed pessimism about the 2023 elections’ ability to ensure a peaceful transition of power hence the need for Zimbabwe to agree on alternative ways.
Speaking at a Press conference in Bulawayo held under the theme: The Voices of the Ordinary People of Zimbabwe ahead of the 2023 elections, Sibanda said Zimbabwe needs to agree on alternative ways of transition of power without shedding blood.
NewsDay quotes him as saying:
Our history is that each time we have an election, there is political violence. Whatever projects political parties who win elections do are for purposes of electioneering. There is a lot of political polarisation in our communities. The current winner takes all system being used in the country is a recipe for conflict. The political party that wins the elections grabs the whole cake and this instigates continued electioneering in the country throughout the whole five-year term.
We are going into the election when the electoral reforms which we have been clamouring for as civic society have not happened. We are going into elections with the same electoral systems that were there in 2013, which resulted in disputed elections, followed by a global political agreement. The electoral system does not create inclusivity.
We need dialogue to agree on alternative ways of transition of power without shedding blood.
Sibanda said he had hoped for a transition period to begin after Operation Restore Legacy in 2017 to redefine the nation of Zimbabwe and rebuild it but that did not happen.
He believes it is necessary to resolve the August 1, 2018 killings of civilians, which resulted in the formation of the Kgalema Motlanthe Commission. Sibanda said the Commission’s recommendations are yet to be implemented.
While President Emmerson Mnangagwa is yet to proclaim the exact election dates, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi, said they will likely be held between July 26 and August 26.