Harare (New Ziana) -President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday urged Zimbabweans to maintain and to carry beyond, the largely peaceful environment which has characterized the build-up to the harmonized elections set to take place in two weeks’ time.
Addressing thousands of ruling Zanu PF supporters who a star rally held at the Robert Mugabe Square in the capital on Thursday, President Mnangagwa said there should not be any incidences of violence at the 11th hour to discredit the polls.
He reminded Zimbabweans that there were detractors and forces outside the country that wanted to see Zimbabwe engulfed in violence, adding these should be ashamed.
“We are only 14 days towards the harmonized 2023 elections. Where we have come from, we have maintained peace, where we are now we should maintain peace, where we are going, we shall continue to maintain peace,” he said.
“We are a peaceful people, we are humble and God loving people of Zimbabwe, we shall maintain our peace and our unity. We are a unitary state.”
President Mnangagwa said the late Vice-President John Landa Nkomo left a strong message of peace which should remain a beacon in the Zanu PF party and the nation at large.
“His message of ‘Peace begins with me, peace begins with you and peace begins with all of us’ is a strong message because it is only when we are united that we can develop the country.
“Let us put to shame those who wish us bad, we are a maturing democracy. After all, the democracy we are enjoying today was not given but we had to fight for it through removing the oppressive and undemocratic and imperial institutions which did not give us one man one vote,” he said.
He warned all political stakeholders that there would not be any sacred cows as perpetrators of violence would be brought to book without fear or favor, adding that peace should prevail before, during and after elections.
President Mnangagwa castigated the Mtwakhazi party for trying to divide the nation geographically, saying that would never happen.
“They can dream and dream and if it is possible they will dream in their graves because the country will remain intact as it is.
“It will be the same united country with one national flag, one national anthem, we will never ever be divided just because of petty political interests,” he said.
He said the country was endowed with natural resources which were being exploited to develop the economy despite the illegal sanctions that some Western countries imposed.
“For the last three years, Zimbabwe has been the fastest growing economy in SADC (Southern African Development Community) in spite of sanctions.
“All sectors in agriculture, mining, manufacturing and tourism are growing under the 2nd Republic and we have also managed to address the issue of food security at household level,” he said.
President Mnangagwa is holding star rallies in different parts of the country to campaign for re-election on August 23 when the country chooses a President, House of Assembly and local government representatives for the next five years.
Zimbabweans have largely heeded his repeated calls for peace before, during and after the harmonised elections, which have attracted wide attention as they have a lot of stakes for both the opposition and the ruling party.
The opposition is making a last-ditch attempt to dislodge the ruling party in order to reverse the political and economic gains of independence, which the latter is determined to protect and preserve.
New Ziana
