PA leader Gayton Mackenzie criticises Zimbabwean nationals who vowed to march to their embassy in Pretoria in protest against the Zim elections. Picture: Matthews Baloyi/Africa News Agency (ANA)
Patriot Alliance (PA) leader, Gayton Mackenzie has urged the Department of Home Affairs (DHE) to stand "ready" and "deport" the Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa who have vowed to march to their embassy to protest against election results in Zimbabwe.
“Home Affairs should stand ready at the Zimbabwean Embassy to deport the whole lot,” he said.
The Zimbabwean election results have caused an uproar among Zimbabwe nations in South Africa who have vowed to protest against the results at their embassy in Pretoria.
It is alleged that scores of unhappy Zimbabwean nationals in SA were planning to march to their embassy in protest of the election results.
The protest action is also against the re-election of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front’s (Zanu-PF’s) President Emerson Mnangagwa. The protesters are taking their displeasure over the election results to the streets.
The suspicion is that the elections were rigged, unfair, unequally conducted, and politically damaging.
Mackenzie said this showed that the nationals were “cowards” who couldn’t face their government and fight for their rights. “Witchcraft of the highest order, cowards,” he said.
Zanu-PF is the ruling party in Zimbabwe, and has been since independence in 1980, with past polls being marred by violence and intimidation.
This comes after the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced that Emmerson Mnangagwa emerged as President for the second term following the disputed elections on Saturday.
Mnangagwa won the election by 52% of the votes, slightly beating opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, who received 44% of the votes.
He won with a difference of less than 10%
Meanwhile, Build One South Africa (Bosa) has also called on the SA government to declare the Zimbabwean elections a “sham” and to immediately cease diplomatic engagement with the government of Zimbabwe.
The call was also extended to the government to review its economic relationships with Zimbabwe.
“In the same way that Ecowas (Economic Community of West African States) has taken a strong position on coups in the West African region, it is time for SADC (Southern African Development Community) nations to take strong positions on irregular and unfair elections. Bosa calls for an Extraordinary summit of SADC nations to discuss the electoral crisis in Zimbabwe and how to resolve the impasse,” it said.
Bosa alleged that the elections were not fair and free.
“The elections in Zimbabwe have not been free, fair, or transparent. South Africa and the SADC region cannot proceed with business as usual while there is a democratic crisis in a key SADC nation,” it said.
It stated that there were numerous irregularities observed, opposition rallies were arbitrarily and capriciously banned, there was limited access for opposition parties to state media on print, radio, and television and opposition politicians were arrested during the elections.
“These actions had the cumulative effect of limiting the ability of opposition parties to exercise their political rights and speech rights,” it said.
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