Peace commission meets political leaders

Published: 26 June 2018

THE National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) is today set to bring together all leaders of political parties contesting in the harmonised elections to commit to a peaceful election by signing a Peace Pledge.

This is part of the NPRC's efforts to forestall conflict before, during and after the elections.

The signing ceremony will be held in Harare and the business community, churches, civil society, the diplomatic community, independent commissions, international observers and the judiciary will also attend.

People living with disabilities, the security sector, traditional leaders, youth and women's organisations and members of the media have also been invited to witness the event.

NPRC commissioner Patience Chiradza yesterday said all was set for the event and urged political parties and invited organisations to attend. "This is one of the key building blocks for peace in our country and it's important for our political parties to attend and sign the Peace Pledge," said commissioner Chiradza.

Another, NPRC commissioner Charles Masunungure said the signing of the pledge is aimed at promoting peace.

"This is provided for in the constitution and the electoral laws of the country and in particular the code of conduct which is now law. The NPRC is coming into a space where various initiatives towards promoting peace have been taking place.

"One of these initiatives is the work that has been done over the years by the political parties in Parliament in crafting the code of conduct for political parties and ensuring that it becomes part of the law," said commissioner Masunungure.

He said the code of conduct plays an important role in setting the tone for a peaceful environment for the elections.

"The political actors have already made their commitment to the code of conduct which they have acknowledged and signed as part of the nomination process. The Peace Pledge presents a new dawn in Zimbabwe's political party engagement as the nation makes way for the 2018 harmonised elections and the occasion signifies the willingness by political players to creating a peaceful election environment– thus providing an enabling environment for Zimbabweans to exercise their right to vote in peace," said commissioner Masunungure.

He said in its work towards creating a peaceful environment for elections, the NPRC has also made efforts to set up a conflict early warning response platform, among other strategies.

"This is a platform where members of the peace building ecosystem who have early warning mechanisms at the community level meet to share information on conflict early warning signs with a view to mobilise for timely response. The platform meets every Thursday.

"We also engage political parties to promote peace and adhere to the political parties' code of conduct and dialogue with stakeholders such as traditional, churches, civil society, women, people living with disabilities and youth," said commissioner Masunungure.
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