By Kelvin Kasiwulaya
With 17 days left for the much anticipated Zimbabwean plebiscite, scheduled to commence at 7 am, 23 August 2023, defacing of campaign posters has become rife in the high density suburb of Mtapa.
Observations by this reporter indicate that both campaign marshalls from the ruling party ZANU -PF and the main opposition Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) are defacing posters belonging to their political rivals.
Roving around Mtapa Shopping Center this Reporter noticed the following:
ZANU-PF MP candidate Alex Mukwembi’s poster was stuck just on top of CCC Gweru Urban Candidate, Josiah Makombe’s poster.
Mukwembi’s campaign posters were also visibly stuck on top of Ward 18 aspiring local authority candidates Godfrey Giwa and William Mazango.
At another corner posters three posters belonging to ZANU-PF Candidate Alex Mukwembi were all defaced.
The defacing of campaign posters in Mtapa, comes after the Midlands Provincial Elections Officer (PEO), Mrs Dorcas Mpofu, Chided political actors to refrain from defacing opponents posters as this would culminate in political violence.
The concern over poster-related violence was raised during a Provincial
Multi-Party Liaison Committee held at the Gweru Government Complex on Monday 26 June 2023.
Mrs Dorcas Mpofu, addressing the committee, stated “The destruction of campaign posters has in the yesteryears led to violent clashes among party supporters, endangering the peace and stability of the Midlands Province”.
She stressed the importance of promoting tolerance as a fundamental principle for a free and fair electoral process.
Mrs Mpofu called on all political parties to allow adequate space for their opponents’ campaign materials and emphasized the need for peaceful coexistence during the election period.
