Zimbabwean President, Emmerson Mnangagwa has warned “rogue” non-governmental organisations and foreign voices to stay off the country’s forthcoming general elections.
Mnangagwa, during an independence day speech, stressed that dissenting voices would not be tolerated during the political exercise as he warned “voices, foreign or local, inclusive of rogue NGOs” sowing “seeds of division and disharmony among” Zimbabweans to stay off the country’s politics.
President Mnangagwa also promised to chair a free and fair presidential and legislative elections, expected to be in August, although no date has been announced yet.
“My government has put measures in place to ensure free, fair, and credible elections”, he said in a speech delivered at an event to mark 43 years of independence from Britain.
Zimbabwe’s upper house of parliament in February approved legislation that banned civil society organisations from engaging in politics, and allows the state to interfere in their governance and activities, such as making changes to their internal management and funding.
The president, who replaced strongman ruler Robert Mugabe in 2017 after a military-led coup, is battling against entrenched poverty, recurring power outages, and debilitating unemployment, all of which have led to resentment.