By Collins Chirinda
Election Resource Centre (ERC) this afternoon revealed that it was concerned with the utterances made by Minister of State for Masvingo Province, Mr Josaya Hungwe.
This comes after a Masvingo based newspaper TellZim reported that Minister Hungwe said that ZANU PF would be working hand in glove with the Zimbabwe Defense Forces in its campaigns ahead of the 2018 general elections.
Meanwhile, the commission encouraged the army to be professional and that all political parties should respect the neutrality of the army.
“ERC would like to urge political parties and ZDF to respect and observe the neutrality of ZDF as is mandated by the Constitution of Zimbabwe.” reads the statement released by the ERC.
ERC also quoted Section 208 (2) (a) and (b) of the Constitution which state that “neither the security services nor any of their members may, in the exercise of the functions (a) “act in a partisan manner” (b) “further the interests of any political party or cause”.
The government was also encouraged to safeguard freedoms of speech and expression and ensure transparency and impartiality ahead of the 2018 general elections.
“ERC urges the Government of Zimbabwe to ensure that a peaceful environment is maintained that would enable citizens of Zimbabwe to exercise their constitutional right to vote without fear or intimidation.”
The statement issued by ERC comes at a time when outcries of voter intimidation and human rights abuses have been topical issues at a time when the nation is preparing for the 2018 watershed elections.
