The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) has written a letter to put the Zimbabwean Embassy in Gaborone on notice of the party’s planned march to deliver a petition on October 26th, addressing concerns about Zimbabwe’s alleged interference in Botswana’s general election.
In the letter addressed to the Zimbabwean ambassador, the UDC complained, “The continued involvement of your country’s Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) in collaboration with the Directorate of Intelligence Services (DIS) in manipulation of our election outcome.”
The UDC further stated in the same letter that Zimbabwe’s interference in the local election goes beyond state institutions to include collusion between the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and Zanu PF to register non-illegible Zimbabweans to vote in the October 30th general elections.
Signed by UDC Head of Communications, Moeti Mohwasa, the letter has also alleged, “Because of Zimbabwe’s meddling in 2019 elections, the outcome did not reflect the wish of the people.
“As the UDC, we hold that this scenario, if allowed to continue, will not only distort and compromise our democracy, but has its potential to affect our people to people relations,” the party cautioned.
At the time of going to press, the Zimbabwean Embassy had not yet received the letter, which ended with a call for citizens and interested parties to stay updated on developments as the March date approaches.
