Opposition political parties in Zimbabwe are calling for massive reforms in the conduct of elections in that country.
On Wednesday, many of these political parties held a protest rally in Harare, the capital of the Southern African country, demanding that upcoming elections in 2018 are conducted by the African Union and United Nations.
The leader of the Movement for Democratic Change’s Morgan Tsvangirai, told supporters at the rally that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is partial and cannot be trusted to deliver a credible election.
The opposition political parties have formed the National Election Reform Agenda (NERA). Its chairman Farai Mbire said there is the need to “immediately establish an independent, tripartite election management body to take over the full functions of ZEC.”
Presidential elections are due for next year with the longtime leader of the country, Robert Mugabe, 94 still expected to run again.
Before the protest, Police deployed anti-riot officers on the streets of Harare to confine the protesters. The opposition parties were demonstrating against changes to the voter registration process.
Previous protests in similar fashion over economic crisis in Zimbabwe turned violent last year when.
The protesters submitted a petition detailing their concerns to officials of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
Source: Africafeeds.com
