Published by the government of Zimbabwe
16 January 2008
Harare — The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association - in conjunction with other groups representing cadres who contributed to the successful outcome of the Second Chimurenga - have launched a campaign to ensure the ruling Zanu-PF gets a landslide victory in the landmark harmonised polls slated for March.
In a statement announcing the launch of "Operation Take Them All" yesterday, the ZNLWVA said in addition to rallying the nation around President Mugabe and the party's selected representatives in the legislative and civic elections, they were urging people to campaign peacefully and refrain from violence.
The operation is being held in conjunction with the Zimbabwe National War Collaborators Association and the Zimbabwe Ex-Political Prisoners, Detainees and Restrictees Association. "The ZNLWVA being the vanguard of our revolution, and committed to the preservation of our national sovereignty, liberation and the gains of our long, bloody struggle for independence is embarking on yet another mission to defend our motherland.
"The mission is to ensure the total victory of our party Zanu-PF in the forthcoming harmonised elections." They added: "We will rally behind President R.G Mugabe and urge all our masses to vote for him and our chosen candidates to ensure total victory. We will be launching various commissariat programmes, as we did during the liberation struggle, in our onslaught code-named Operation Take Them All."
The groups said: "The March 2008 general elections should be held in peace and tranquillity as clearly commanded by President R.G Mugabe and call on all opposing parties, particularly the imperialist inspired and driven so-called MDC formations of Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara to desist from violence. "We call on the people of Zimbabwe to vote for Zanu-PF, the party that brought liberation, independence and democracy, and for President Mugabe, our iconic revolutionary leader."
ZNLWVA urged the ruling party to conduct primary elections "with fairness and transparency, according candidates who command popular support to be chosen" in the spirit of democracy. "All prospective candidates must seek a fresh mandate from the people as was the case with our President who subjected himself to vote during our special extraordinary congress," they said. Cde Mugabe was unanimously elected as the ruling party's sole presidential candidate at Zanu-PF's December extraordinary congress.
Zimbabwe is constitutionally scheduled to hold joint presidential, senate, house of assembly and local government elections in March this year.
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