The United States (US) embassy in Harare has urged the government to resume by-elections, arguing that elections could be held safely despite the COVID-19 pandemic as has been proven in other African countries.
The government early last year banned elections, citing the COVID-19 outbreak.
Posting on their Twitter handle yesterday, the US embassy questioned why Zimbabwe continued to suspend by-elections when other countries allowed the running of polls.
“When will the Zimbabwean government resume by-elections? Long-standing parliamentary vacancies have left over 754 000 voters in 26 constituencies without elected representation. Only by-elections will restore these citizens’ rights to representation,
“Many countries have held elections despite the pandemic, including Zambia, South Africa, Malawi, and the United States, demonstrating that COVID-19-safe elections are possible. We are confident Zimbabwe can do the same #ZimsSafetoVote #ZimVotesMatter.” The US embassy said.
However In response to the US Embassy, secretary in the Ministry of Information, Nick Mangwana said the US consulate was being “disrespectful” to the Zimbabwean government by publicly taking it to task over holding of by-elections.
“Surely, the US embassy knows where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located,
“Should there be a need for a conversation on this subject, you can easily engage them and get a briefing. These highly inflammatory tweets are as disrespectful as they are unnecessary.” Mangwana responded on Twitter.
The ruling Zanu PF party conducted its nationwide district co-ordinating committee elections in December last year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic while the Zec election ban was in effect.
