The Sunday News
Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Midlands Correspondent
MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has demanded to check every ballot paper printed and take charge of it as he continues to make unpractical demands to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) ahead of the harmonised elections.
Addressing a rally at Mkoba Stadium in Gweru yesterday, Mr Chamisa said he wanted to check every ballot paper printed by ZEC and take charge of it failure of which he threatened to take unspecified action.
He said elections will only go on if ZEC bows down to his demands.
“On the issue of the ballot paper there is no going back and there is no compromise. I told ZEC on Friday that I want to see a sample of the ballot paper. If we are to compromise that we allow them to print in our absence we are going to test batch by batch toisa apa rochengetwa nevakomana vedu (and take charge of it). If we agree we go for an election but if we do not agree we said we are going to have a vigil and we will make sure that everyone is part of this.
We said we are not going to get into the elections. This does not mean we are boycotting the election. Isu tinoti haivhiyiwe chidembo tamba muswe takabata (the elections will not go on). The elections will not go on before we agree on the ballot paper. We want to agree where it is going to be printed, by who, where it is stored and how it is going to be distributed,” he said.
Mr Chamisa said he was working with insiders at ZEC who were leaking information to him.
“I got information that they want to use a fake ballot paper and that information I got it from inside. Before they announce whatever they would have agreed on, the information is leaked to me,” he said.
Mr Chamisa threatened to unleash violence in the country if his demands were not met and make it ungovernable.
“Tinomutsa mweya wegamba usati wakambomutswa munyika muno you have no monopoly over violence in this country. Hamuna monopoly yekuvhiringa vanhu. There can never be peace in this country without the consent of the citizens. So you should know that on these issues we have to agree you cannot impose your will. Ndichariisa jecha sadza iroro. You won’t eat it. You will suffer if you are not careful. They asked me what I meant with that and I said exactly that,” he said.
Mr Chamisa said he will not institute legal proceedings against ZEC over his demands but will find other ways of dealing with the matter.
“President Emmerson Mnangagwa said if I am not happy with the way ZEC is doing things, I should approach the court. I am not doing that. I will not fight a crocodile in a river but will ask the crocodile to come on a dry land and I will crush it,” he said.
