Elections sing the well-known song of violence in Zimbabwe
On Monday the ZANU-PF primary elections were held, which in a way should have been an example of how the 31 July elections are going to be, and if this is true, we really are in for a rough ride.
The process was chaotic with ballot boxes and papers arriving late in many of the constituencies, and in some cases prospective voters left without having voted. This chaos was worsened as some constituencies, such as Mutare central, ran out of ballot papers before everyone had voted. There have also been reports of violence and voter discrimination.
This is seriously worrying as this is just inter-party competition. If there are already reports of arson and violence then what will happen when more intense opposition is brought in? Elections sing the well-known song of violence in Zimbabwe, and, unfortunately, the preaching of “peaceful voting” has a hollow ring to it.