Comrade Timi Frank, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), strongly criticized the alleged manipulation of the presidential election in Zimbabwe by the ruling ZANU-PF party.
Frank, in a statement released in Abuja, expressed his dismay at the silence of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, as well as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in the face of the evident electoral injustice inflicted upon the opposition presidential candidate in Zimbabwe, who is widely believed to have legitimately won the election.
Frank highlighted the dangerous trajectory that electoral manipulation often leads to, which can evolve into military coups and violent changes of government due to the frustration and deep-seated resentment of people who have been deprived of their right to choose their leaders freely, through fraudulent means and coercion.
He emphasized that Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner under questionable circumstances, driven by widespread irregularities orchestrated by the ruling party, which used fear and voter suppression tactics in opposition strongholds.
Frank pointed out that the opposition candidate, Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), was unfairly stripped of votes, a fact attested to by international observers and the Southern Africa regional body that monitored the election.
Furthermore, he drew parallels between this situation and the February 25, 2023 presidential election in Nigeria, which also failed to meet regional and international standards due to the ruling party’s overwhelming influence and its employment of financial incentives, intimidation, and harassment to thwart the rightful choice of Nigerian citizens.
The head of the European Union’s observer mission commented that the election took place in an atmosphere of fear, while the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission raised concerns about voting delays, issues with the voter roll, restrictions on opposition rallies, and biased state media coverage.
“For example, voting was forced into an unprecedented second day because of delays in the printing of ballot papers in some key districts including the capital Harare, an opposition stronghold principally to deny Chamisa of votes,” he said.
He criticized the growing occurrence of African ruling parties disregarding the electoral rights of opposition parties and their candidates by engaging in rigging. He cautioned that this concerning pattern would persist unless steps are taken to compel African Heads of States to uphold the integrity of the ballot box.
He urged regional political organizations like the AU and ECOWAS to promptly intervene by addressing the President of Zimbabwe’s actions, as a crucial move to counter the emergence of coup d’états, a trend currently surfacing in several African nations, including the recent case in Niger Republic.
“This is what African leaders are doing that is leading to military coups in the continent of Africa. An electoral coup has just taken place where the sitting President has outrightly rigged the election against the expressed will of the people.
“But neither African presidents nor AU has condemned what has happened in Zimbabwe. But if there is a military coup in Zimbabwe tomorrow, they will all begin to issue war threats in a bid to restore democratic rule,” he said.
He called on the United States of America, United Kingdom and other international bodies, to lend their voice to condemn what he called electoral heist in Zimbabwe if they are genuinely interested in ending coups in Africa.
“So we are telling the international community that until they come together to make sure that African elections are transparent, free and fair, coups will not end in Africa,” he declared.
He called for urgent international sanctions against the President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and any President that rigs election in Africa to fraudulently perpetuate themselves in office against the wish of the people.
“The United Nations must ensure that henceforth Presidents or heads of governments that were rigged into office are not invited to attend its General Assembly or any of its international gatherings,” he stated.
