Zimbabwe is charged with meddling in the elections of its neighbors

Zimbabwe’s tight relations to neighboring ruling parties are causing difficulties; opposition forces in Mozambique, Namibia, and Botswana have accused Zanu-PF of meddling in their local elections.

The ruling party of Zimbabwe, one of the last liberation organizations still in control in Southern Africa, says it is fighting against neo-colonial forces that are purportedly attempting to retake the area.

Before the contentious October 9 elections, Zanu-PF sent out campaign squads to support Daniel Chapo, the new president of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo). Targeting the expatriate vote, Frelimo was actually permitted to hold campaign rallies throughout Zimbabwe in the lead-up to the elections.

In addition, some members of Zimbabwe’s ruling party claimed to have voted for Frelimo by abusing the diaspora voting system in Mozambique.
Many Mozambicans have emigrated to Zimbabwe as a result of the violent wars that have raged there over the years. Many of them participated in the elections as members of the diaspora.

Officials from Zanu-PF have been campaigning in Botswana with the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), led by President Mokgweetsi Masisi, in advance of the October 30 elections.

This week, Namibia’s opposition protested against a South African company that was hired to prepare ballots for the November 27 elections, claiming the company is connected to a close friend of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Zanu-PF claimed to want to inspire the Southern African Development Community (SADC) liberation parties to counter threats from “erstwhile colonizers” when it convened a conference of them earlier this year.

The African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa, Chama Cha Mapinduzi of Tanzania, Frelimo, BDP, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), and the Southwest Africa People’s Organization (Swapo) of Namibia were the parties.

While the parties, with the exception of the ANC, did not participate in the contentious August 2023 elections in Zimbabwe, Zanu-PF has been present in Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, and Mozambique.

Ian Khama, the former president of Botswana who is pushing for an opposition candidate to run against his successor, has been outspoken about Zimbabwe’s purported election meddling.

At a recent campaign event, Mr. Khama stated, “We recently found out that Zanu-PF members cast ballots in the recently concluded general elections in Mozambique.”

When President Mnangagwa appeared on national television, he pledged to assist President Masisi in winning elections. The ruling party is getting ready to use Zimbabweans to cast ballots in Botswana in order to rig the forthcoming election. Zimbabweans could support Botswana’s ruling party if they were able to vote in Mozambique’s general election.
SADC must put an end to Zanu-PF, according to opposition leader Job Sikhala of Zimbabwe.

“Zanu-PF’s efforts to gain regional recognition have gotten desperate,” Mr. Sikhala stated. They are haughtily coming out in the open and saying that they are doing all in their power to help their pals in Botswana win the next elections. Interfering with a sovereign neighbor’s internal affairs is what that is. SADC must not be mute.

The claims that Zimbabwe interfered in elections in neighboring countries were refuted by government spokesman Nick Mangwana.

Mr. Mangwana declared, “Zimbabwe cooperates with any democratically elected government in the region.” Only under the aegis of fraternal parties or within the purview of SADC observer missions do we as a nation take part in regional elections. Although we acknowledge that we have a lot of influence and do contribute to the area’s thought leadership, it is absurd to claim that Zimbabwe chooses who leads each of the nations in the region.

Last year, after a SADC observation delegation rejected the results as falling short of regional norms, Zimbabwe accused Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema of attempting to sway the August 2023 elections.

The SADC observer delegation was headed by former Zambian vice president Nevers Mumba, who was selected by President Hichilema.

Edgar Lungu, a former president of Zambia, is now accused of attempting to support Zimbabwe in his bid to unseat the current president in 2026.

Zambia’s report of Zimbabwe to the African Union and SADC earlier this year marked the height of the diplomatic tension between the two nations.

In a private chat with Russian President Vladmir Putin, President Mnangagwa was overheard stating that Zambia’s close links to the West made it a security concern to the area.

Zimbabwe has no stake in the outcome of elections in other nations, according to Mr. Mangwana.

He urged the region’s political parties to put in more effort to convince their own voters to grant them the authority to rule rather than to blame others for their shortcomings. “We may sympathize, but we have no stake in the outcome, just like everything else.”

President Mnangagwa has also come under fire for praising Frelimo for “resoundingly winning” the elections just days before the official results were revealed.

Opposition parties in Mozambique have been protesting an alleged manipulation of the election results to favor Frelimo.
Zimbabwe, the current chair of SADC, may have to mediate the escalating election conflict.

The Institute of Security Studies’ southern Africa program leader, Piers Pigou, stated, “President Mnangagwa interfered in Botswana elections last month and is now preventing the official release of results in Mozambique elections.” The chair of the SADC is flagrantly breaking the rules here. The region’s and Zimbabwe’s ingrained silence is shocking, but his actions are not surprising.