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Private press reports and opposition parties claim that thousands of plainclothes soldiers work in secret in rural areas to campaign for the ruling party.
DOSSIER: A Zimbabwean army officer walks through the central business district of Harare. Photo: AFP.
HARARE – The Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF) say that no soldier has been deployed in rural areas to intimidate villagers.
Private press reports and opposition parties have been calling for months In 1965, ZDF spokesman Overson Mugwisi cited several private newspaper reports published in recent months.
The reports, quoting opposition officials, said that up to 5,000 soldiers were fugitives in rural areas. Plainclothes police were sent to rural communities to intimidate voters in favor of the ruling Zanu-PF party.
Mugwisi said that the stories were false and that the newspapers in question had not tried to get the point of view of the army. When asked if the army would respect the outcome of this month's election, Mugwisi said only that soldiers would abide by the constitution.
If Zimbabwean observers had hoped to hear that the army would accept an opposition victory, they would be disappointed.
(Edited by Zamangwane Shange)
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