Zimbabwe opposition party launches election rallies after multiple bans

Zimbabwe’s largest opposition party on Sunday 16 July 2023 finally managed to launch its election campaign after multiple bans of planned rallies ahead of August 23 general polls.

The southern African nation, long prone to political and economic instability, is bracing for another electoral battle between opposition leader Nelson Chamisa and iron-fisted President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

ALSO READ: Zimbabwe court bans Mugabe’s friend from vying for presidency

ZIMBABWE OPPOSITION VOWS

Chamisa, the 45-year-old leader of the recently formed Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party, vowed to win despite what he said were efforts by authorities to block his rallies.

“You cannot stop an idea whose time has come,” he told an enthusiastic crowd of supporters in Gweru, about 300 kilometres (186 miles) southwest of Harare.

ALSO READ: Eskom eases load shedding: City of Cape Town confirms schedule

“They can stop our meetings, but they cannot stop people from loving me.” The CCC says more than 90 of its rallies have been blocked since the party’s formation early last year.

WHAT’S THE NATIONAL GRIEVANCE IN ZIMBABWE?

Chamisa vowed to clamp down on corruption and said the theme of his campaign was “For Everyone”. “There is a national grievance across the whole country. We are ushering a government which will bring opportunities for everyone.”

ALSO READ: Zimbabwean opposition rally banned, now over toilets

Mnangagwa, who replaced strongman ruler Robert Mugabe in 2017 after a military-led coup, heads the ruling ZANU-PF party, which has been in power since independence in 1980.

Human rights activists have accused his government of clamping down on dissent and failing to uphold basic rights. Zimbabweans will vote in local, parliamentary, and presidential polls next month.

ALSO READ: Zimbabwe’s opposition reveals 8 held following campaign rally ban

str-ger/fb/lcm
© Agence France-Presse