Zimbabweans Are Tired Of Elections, Says Temba Mliswa
Norton legislator Temba Mliswa (Independent) has suggested that the country should go for a referendum for the electorate to decide whether to go ahead with the 2023 general elections or postpone them.
Zimbabwe is scheduled to hold general elections this year between 26 July and 26 August.
The Constitution of Zimbabwe makes it clear that elections should be conducted every five years, and the term of office of elected government officers is strictly five years.
Mliswa claimed that Zimbabweans are tired of elections as they have failed to bring about substantial socio-economic change. He said:
The prevailing issue which has resulted in Mwonzora going to court is the culpability of all those who failed to play their role and only came to life after ZEC delivered the final report.
However, going forward, as I have already said in an interview with Guthrie Munyuki, a referendum could be a good idea at this moment.
The country needs a referendum to hear what the people say about the whole election debate and implement that.
People are tired of elections & they have failed to bring about any substantial socio-economic change.
Instead of acknowledging this reality, there has been a lot of posturing by politicians across the board. There is always the mirage that the next election is it!
The opposition can’t campaign openly; the voter’s roll isn’t available and it’s clear from the outset that whatever results will come out will be contentious and won’t advance the country one step.
The reforms which the opposition has been clamouring for have not been realized!
The ingredients for another contentious electoral season are there and yet we are plowing full-steam ahead as if things have changed. They haven’t.
It’s just that in the frenetic excitement of polls, many lose their marbles and only awake after.
In 2019, the Zimbabwe Heads Of Christian Denominations called for the suspension of elections for seven years.
Some opposition parties have also called for the postponement of the polls but the country’s main opposition political party, CCC, wants polls to go ahead, despite having its many rallies banned or disrupted.
More: Pindula News
