President Emmerson Mnangagwa says Zimbabwe’s harmonized elections held IN August this year were peaceful and credible.
Addressing delegates to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Mnangagwa said the country continues to entrench democracy and the rule of law.
He said, “Following the recently held 2023 general elections, I’m pleased to highlight that our country enjoyed peace before, during and after our free, fair, transparent and credible elections. The Zimbabwe has been under the illegal unilateral economic sanctions for 23 years imposed by some western countries. These sanctions were designed to subjugate the sovereign will of the Zimbabwean people. We therefore demand that the unjustified unilateral sanctions be unconditionally lifted, including those imposed on countries like Cuba.”
He said Zimbabwe inspite of these “debilitating sanctions the people of Zimbabwe have become masters of their own destiny. This is anchored on a philosophy that as a people, we have the duty and responsibility of developing our country, using our own domestic resources.
He said the restrictive measures imposed by the West on Zanu PF officials following claims of election rigging and human rights abuses, constitute an obstacle to the implementation of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Zimbabwean leader, who is serving his second term amid concerns by the opposition that the harmonized elections were allegedly rigged, said developed nations should stop sabotaging less powerful countries.
He said, “We strongly condemn tendencies by some powerful countries who preach peace, human rights and democracy and yet clandestinely fund conflicts and the unconstitutional changes of governments, for their own narrow interests. We, further, condemn the use of unilateral and illegal sanctions as a foreign policy tool at the disposal of some powerful nations, such as those sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and countries like Cuba. Such actions hamper the trust, global solidarity and multilateralism we desire. It is important that we channel our collective efforts towards building peace and driving forward our development agenda, for shared prosperity. There is much more that unites us, than that which divides us.”
The Southern African Development Community has over the years campaigned for the lifting of targeted sanctions imposed on Zanu PF officials and some companies in Zimbabwe. At the United Nations General Assembly, President Hage Geingob of Namibia and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for the removal of the restrictive measures.
Geigngob said, ““Selective punitive measures against Zimbabwe and Venezuela must also be lifted, as these measures constitute an obstacle to the implementation of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
But opposition activists say Mnangagwa should first resolve the political crisis in his country before condemning the targeted santions.
“This has become a boring song at the U.N General Assembly. President Mnangagwa should fix what’s happening in the country instead of attacking some nations about these sanctions,” said newly-elected legislator, Descent Collins Bajila of the Citizens Coalition for Change.