The opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has stated that nominees involved in the violence witnessed during their selection process on Wednesday would be automatically disqualified.
Fadzayi Mahere, the party’s national spokesperson condemned the violence and stated that any person responsible or involved in violence would not be allowed to participate in their candidate selection process. She said the party will vet nominees and consult with community stakeholders for their recommendations on candidates. The selection process was disrupted at some centres due to clashes among candidates. Mahere told a press conference in Harare on Thursday:
Violence is a ZANU PF culture and we condemn it in its totality. Any person found responsible for violence or causing violence will be automatically disqualified from any form of participation in our candidate selection process…
Thereafter, the very important community consensus which builds part of the panel starts. There will be citizen caucuses, where citizens will come together and will be told of who their candidates are and asked of their preference.
According to a report by the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), violence was witnessed by their monitors in Glen View, Harare, and Zengeza West constituency in Chitungwiza.
Reports of violence also marred the ZANU PF primaries held last week. The party has since directed that re-runs will be held in areas where violence was recorded.
Elections in Zimbabwe have a history of violence, including intimidation, harassment, and physical violence against opposition members, human rights activists, and others. There have also been reports of state-sponsored violence and restrictions on freedoms, which have raised concerns about the fairness and credibility of the electoral process.
Zimbabwe has also experienced violence both between different political parties (interparty) and within the same party (intraparty). However, there have been some improvements in recent years. In the 2013 and 2018 elections, there were reports of violence and intimidation, but they were not as widespread as before.