THE ruling Zanu PF party has been accused of wreaking havoc in the region, trying to influence election results in several countries.
The party’s name has featured prominently in Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique.
Botswana and Namibia are heading to the polls this year, while Mozambique has already conducted its disputed election, where Zimbabweans voted.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is Sadc chairperson, this week prematurely congratulated Mozambique’s FRELIMO party for a “resounding victory” even though the election results had not been released.
Zanu PF bigwig Patrick Chinamasa attended a rally in Botswana, where they promised to help the ruling Botswana Democratic Party to retain power.
Former Botswana President Ian Khama recently said the country’s opposition was worried about Zanu PF rigging machinations in the country.
“We just learned today that members of Zanu PF voted in the just-ended Mozambique general elections. Remember Mnangagwa went on national television and promised to help (current President Mokgweetsi) Masisi win elections,” he said while addressing supporters of Botswana Patriotic Front Tuesday
He said Masisi’s proposal to allow Zimbabweans to cross into Botswana using only their identity cards was a plan to cheat.
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Botswana’s two main opposition parties, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and the Botswana Congress Party, have notified the police of their intentions to embark on a march to the Zimbabwean embassy in the capital Gaborone.
The protest, expected to be held today, is against the alleged involvement of Zimbabwe in the plot to rig Botswana’s general elections slated for next Wednesday.
UDC chief whip Dithapelo Keorapetse in parliament insisted that cheating was happening.
“Democracy, which Botswana is, although flawed, presupposes that rulers are chosen by the ruled and are removable by the ruled. In other words, government is subjected to a quinquennial review through universal adult suffrage in a one man, (or) woman one vote,” he said.
Over 110 members of Namibia’s People’s Democratic Movement marched to the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s offices in the capital on Tuesday.
They delivered a petition asking the commission to cancel a contract with Ren-Form, which is to design, print and deliver ballot papers to be used in Namibia’s elections.
Party leader McHenry Venaani said Ren-Form is tainted by the 2023 allegations in Zimbabwe.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) recently awarded a US$60 million to supply all election materials including ballot papers to Ren-Form CC, a South African company embroiled in another procurement scandal in Zimbabwe.
ECN initially invited bids through an advert on September 10, 2024, but issued a notice on October 7 two days before the deadline for tender document submission announcing that the tender had been cancelled.
It did not state its reasons for the cancellation.
Last year, Ren-Form CC got contracts worth over US$100 million to supply election materials including ballot papers, ink and tents during Zimbabwe’s elections in August.
Namibians vote in general elections on November 27.
“The accusation of the money that is involved is going into millions of Namibian dollars, over 800 million Namibian dollars to be exact, [for a company] currently under investigation by the Zimbabwean Anti-Corruption Commission for money-laundering and abuse of office,” Venaani said.
Some Zimbabweans, including two undercover journalists, voted in Mozambique’s general elections last week.
According to The Mirror, the journalists, who were investigating potential electoral rigging, were among the hundreds who cast their votes at Nemanwa Growth Point, just outside Masvingo.
Earlier reports from The Mirror indicated that Zanu PF was mobilising its supporters to register for the Mozambique elections, which took place on October 9, 2024.
