THE United States has openly declared that it will interfere in this year’s harmonised elections in Zimbabwe ostensibly to ensure that they are free and fair but in reality to engineer an outcome of their preference.
This comes as the Western world, which includes the US, is reportedly dangling a staggering US$37 million to sponsor the opposition and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), in a fresh plot to subvert the will of the people of Zimbabwe.
It also comes as some NGOs, namely the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and Election Resource Centre, have received US$537 500 and US$577 500, respectively, from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to run a parallel voter tabulation process which they call Sample Based Observation during the full election cycle.
The money that is already in ZESN and ERC coffers are drawdowns from the US$37 million war chest that oppositional forces have budgeted and that will be granted by hostile foreign governments following meetings that were held in a neighbouring country.
As part of their scheme to influence the outcome of the elections, the NGOs in the country are set to deploy 11 000 opposition CCC activists, under the guise of monitors but whose true mandate is to trigger waves of violence in the event the poll results do not favour them.
After arriving in Zimbabwe yesterday, visiting United States deputy assistant secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs, Ambassador Robert Scott, said he is here to influence the forthcoming elections.
“I am here to engage in a series of meetings with Government, civil society and other actors in the political and social-economic arenas to listen, to take on board their messages to me and also to pass along our hopes from the US specifically for peaceful and inclusive elections, that will be the primary goal of my trip here,” Mr Scott said.
However, this is only but a tip of the iceberg amid indications that Mr Scott is inter-alia seeking an unprecedented meeting with the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Justice Priscilla Chigumba, in a bid to influence the constitutional body mandated with conducting elections in the country.
Meanwhile, some of the Western-sponsored organisations, who are behind the treacherous plot, have already captured some individuals in the election management system and plan an audacious capture of Zec using the compromised officials.
“ . . . ERC has established strategic partnerships with other stakeholders that allows the institution to get access to the voters’ roll, and this avenue will be explored in the event Zec does not provide it with the voters’ roll.”
While there is a flurry of activities as the country gravitates towards the 2023 elections, in the past year several attempts by the West, particularly the US, to sneak in so-called monitors were thwarted by alert authorities. – The Herald
