Presidential aspirant Elisabeth Valerio criticised fellow aspirant Saviour Kasukuwere, saying that Zimbabweans considering voting for him suggests the nation is not ready to vote for good candidates. Valerio drew on a hypothesis that even Jesus would not be voted for despite his goodness. Zimbabwe is set to hold harmonised elections on 23 August 2023.
In a Twitter post seen by Pindula News, Valerio questioned whether Zimbabweans have lost their sense of ethics and morality after living in a corrupt society for so long. She said:
Someone said to me today… “if #Jesus himself was on the ballot, #Zimbabweans would not #vote for him.” This got me thinking about all the heroism Kasukuwere has received recently on social media. Are #Zimbabweans turning a blind eye and forgetting that for a time Saviour #Kasukuwere was the vanguard for much of the injustice and exploitation in our country? Only the amoral would seek refuge in Kasukuwere. Do we no longer know the difference between right and wrong? Have we lost all sense and ethics – perhaps as a consequence of having lived for so long in such a highly #corrupt society? Will #Zimbabwe ever wake up?
Valerio’s own chances of participating in the presidential election are in limbo after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) rejected her application for failure to pay the registration fee of US$20 000. Speaking on the rejection of her application, Valerio said:
I am appealing their position and want @ZECzim to set aside the decision of the Presiding Officer of the Nomination Court, who rejected my nomination as a candidate for election to the office of president.
Meanwhile, Kasukuwere, a former Local Government Minister, has registered to contest for the presidency alongside other candidates including the incumbent president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Nelson Chamisa, Douglas Mwonzora, Lovemore Madhuku, Joseph Busha, Trust Chikohora, Blessing Kasiyamhuru, Wilbert Archbald Mubaiwa, Gwinyai Muzorewa, and Harry Peter Wilson. Another aspirant, Linda Masarira, has approached the courts seeking to force ZEC to accept her application after it was rejected.
Saviour Kasukuwere’s past has been marred by accusations of violence, corruption and abuse of office. Kasukuwere was also accused of plotting to remove Mugabe from power by creating parallel structures within the party. All ten provinces voted to have him expelled from the ZANU PF but the late former president Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace saved him after claiming that his hearing had not been handled well.
In 2017, he skipped the country following Mugabe’s ouster and was later expelled from ZANU PF by the party’s central committee. Kasukuwere’s return to Zimbabwe in 2018 after self-imposed exile raised questions about his motives and whether he had made a deal with the Mnangagwa-led administration. However, Kasukuwere denied any political intentions at that time.