The new party of Joice Mujuru, an ex-vice president who was sacked by Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party after accusations of trying to overthrow President Robert Mugabe, has claimed it has undisclosed information about how Zanu-PF allegedly “stole” previous elections.
Once a powerful ally of Mugabe, Mujuru was sacked by Zanu-PF in 2014 – after the assassination plotplot accusations emerged – but resurfaced this year with the launch of Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF), a party in opposition to Mugabe’s Zanu-PF that seeks to “transform and build” a new nation.
Described as a reformist, Mujuru is now seen as a true contender for leadership in the forthcoming 2018 elections, while commentators have highlighted how her 10-year stint as Mugabe’s deputy enabled her to cultivate a strong support base within the party.
Opposition: ‘Zanu-PF rigged elections’
Former Ambassador and ZimPF official, Agrippa Mutambara, who also close to Mugabe for two decades, on Thursday (5 April) claimed that he had evidence proving how Zanu PF allegedly rigged polls particularly the contested 2008 and 2013 general elections, according to local media.
“We also know the modus operandi of Zanu-PF and how it has fiddled with elections, how they rigged elections in 2008 when the (opposition party) MDC-T won and how they stole the vote in 2013. We are going to use that information to our advantage,” NewsDay reported Mutambara as saying.
Speaking during a round-table discussion in the capital Harare, Mutambara claimed the ruling party had lost support, and was allegedly turning to the use repression methods affecting other political parties. “Zanu PF won’t win another election and they know it. They are now resorting to the use of violence on people who do not support them through the abuse of State resources to fund survival of the party,” the official said.
Zanu-PF, meanwhile, told supporters on Twitter, “Fear not comrades and compatriots the centre is strong, it is firm, tight and all together.”
The polls allegations come just over a week after Mujuru was banned from attending a church meeting in Chinhoyi after local media reported security agents suspected the leader could use the event for campaign purposes. A spokesman for ZimPF, Rugare Gumbo, on 27 April said the move was “undemocratic” and “an act of desperation by the Zanu PF regime”.
The ZimPF party has had several of its gatherings and campaign rallies disrupted by alleged Zanu PF supporters.
- I did not see any rigging :Joice Mujuru
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- Zanu-PF cheated at polls:Didymus Mutasa
However in February this year in her first extensive interview with western media since she was fired, Mujuru pleaded ignorance. She told the British Sunday Times that she did not see any rigging.
“I never saw the rigging… I am sure it was a very small clique that was doing it,” said the former VP, who is now interim leader of the newly-formed People First party.
Furthermore, former Zanu PF stalwart and axed Presidential Affairs minister Didymus Mutasa who is also part of Mujuru’s party in June 2015 said he was ready to stand in court and give evidence on how the ruling Zanu PF party rigged the 2008 election “if approached” by the opposition MDC-T.
Prospective coalition partners in the opposition were not impressed and warned Mujuru that she was of little value to the pro-democracy movement if she does not reveal the regime’s vote rigging secrets. -IBT/Additional reporting
