Will Zimbabwe be able to conduct a first-ever violence-free election season? Will Job Sikhala finally be granted bail or released from prison? Or will the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the European Union and America finally be lifted? Will Zimbabwe’s economy escape the clutches of decay and will the long hours of load shedding come to an end? These are some of the burning questions that linger in the minds of many as they look forward to 2023.
For Zimbabwe, the curtain came down on with a last-minute, unexpected outcome as the United States administration added more individuals to its sanctions list. But that did not dampen the spirits of many Zimbabweans.
Executive Director at Citizens Against Sanctions, Martin Zharare had this to say, “The people of Zimbabwe will remain resolute on the issue of sanctions and on the issue of America piling more pressure on our economy. As Zimbabweans, we are saying we will never give up, we will keep on fighting them and we will keep on defending our sovereignty. The people of Zimbabwe will withstand as they have been withstanding, and if you look at our economy right now it’s doing very well. Everywhere in Zimbabwe, there is a construction boom that is happening because we as Zimbabweans have decided that with them or without them we will build our country.”
The ruling Zanu PF party re-elected its leader for another 5-year term of office.
“2023 is an electoral year, there is no doubt about that. When Zimbabweans get excited and euphoric about elections, life comes to a standstill.”
However, the biggest question remains, will Zimbabwe be able to have a violence-free election season?
“What really worries most citizens is that elections instead of being a carnival affair, elections come with blood on the floor. We naturally would expect a lot of violence, the conflict between contesting parties” says Social Commentator Rejoice Ngwenya.
“The unfortunate part is that elections in Zimbabwe are a sight of struggle. So whenever we head for an election we are heading for a renewed struggle of some sort. There will be skirmishes there will be violence you can not rule that out. And this violence is not one-sided as other people would want to allege it’s from both parties because Zimbabwe’s political system lacks tolerance, Zimbabwe’s political system always perceives the opponent as an enemy,” explains political analyst Alexander Rusero.
Analysts concur that the addition of new players to the political playing field will not significantly change the outcome as it will remain a two-horse race between Zanu PF and the main opposition Triple C led by Nelson Chamisa. However, there are fears that the economy will suffer a huge knock.
“When its election year, the government outdoes itself in public expenditure in terms of appeasing the market. I do not see the first half of 2023 the Zimbabwe dollar surviving against the currency of the united states because of the too much pressure on the government to spend on its electoral program,” adds Ngwenya.
The youthful Nelson Chamisa launched his CCC party on January 24, 2022, after losing the leadership of the main opposition MDC to his arch-rival Douglas Mwonzora.
However, the March 2022 by-elections humbled Mwonzora with his party failing to win a single ward. How Mwonzora and the MDC will fare this time around remains for the voters to determine.
