A press conference held by the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) was interrupted by suspected members of Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ) group at SAPES Trust in Harare on Saturday. During the chaos, unidentified men in their 30s or 40s disembarked an an unregistered vehicle and took press papers being read by CCC spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi. Media personnel tried to identify themselves, but they did not reveal their identities. Media and CCC officials followed them to the car which left the scene a moments later. CCC officials arrested the man who took the papers, declaring their intention to hand him over to the police.
During the press conference, Mkwananzi discussed recent developments following the August 23-24 elections. He commended “impartial” foreign observer missions such as SADC, Commonwealth, and the EU. These missions acknowledged that the elections did not fully meet constitutional requirements. They raised concerns about flaws in the delimitation process, delayed release of the Voters’ Roll by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), high fees for accessing the Voters’ Roll, disruption of opposition rallies, unconstitutionality of the Patriotic Bill, disqualification of a presidential candidate, high nomination fees, insufficient progress in achieving gender parity, concerns about the independence of the Judiciary, allegations of voter intimidation, controversies surrounding postal voting, and biased state-owned media favoring the ruling party. The observer missions also noted that the elections were conducted peacefully.
Mkwananzi reported incidents of violence across the country. He stated that ZANU PF officials assaulted CCC members during vote counting and verification. He provided an example of an assault on Solomon Hodhera of CCC by Ngonidzashe Mudekunye, the ZANU PF candidate for Buhera South constituency, at Muzokoomba Business Centre on August 24. A police report was filed under reference number RRB52934361223. Dorothy Musonza of Harare South and her agents were abducted, and polling agents were chased away. Ellen Chakaneta’s house was reportedly burnt in Buhera, and some members’ houses were pelted with stones in Highlands. Mkwananzi said over 100 such incidents were recorded nationwide.
Mkwananzi mentioned that the data they received indicated a favorable position for Nelson Chamisa to win the presidential election. He urged ZEC to promptly and accurately announce the results. He called upon Zimbabweans to remain peaceful and vigilant against any attempts to undermine the will of the people.