HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s foreign ministry has summoned the deputy U.S. ambassador over a series of tweets the embassy sent calling for peaceful elections in a country that has a history of violent voting and disputed
The ministry accused the embassy of “election-related social media posts that limit activism and meddling in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs.”
Deputy Ambassador Elaine French was summoned to a meeting with Zimbabwe’s acting Permanent Secretary Rofina Chikava on Tuesday following the posts on the US Embassy’s official Twitter account.
Zimbabwe’s foreign ministry said it had a particular problem with a May 26 tweet calling on Zimbabweans to “Register to vote and make sure your voice is heard”. Another tweet from the embassy said: “Zimbabwe’s constitution grants citizens the right to choose their representatives in legitimate, credible and peaceful elections.”
The foreign ministry said the tweet urging people to register to vote was against diplomatic protocols.
“We stand by our recent social media posts calling for peace during the election season,” U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Meg Riggs said in a statement. “Elections are part of a functioning democracy.”
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said elections will take place in August, although he has not announced a specific date.
But the campaign has begun, with opposition parties already alleging violence and intimidation against their supporters by ruling party activists and security forces. Mnangagwa’s ruling ZANU-PF party and the government have denied the allegations, but rights groups have said there is intimidation and Mnangagwa’s government is cracking down on criticism amid a currency crisis and sharply rising food prices. foods
Zimbabwe has been under US sanctions for two decades for human rights abuses, which began under the regime of former President Robert Mugabe, who led Zimbabwe from independence from white minority rule in 1980 until he was ousted in a coup in 2017 and replaced by Mnangagwa.
Zimbabwe has had a series of violent and contested elections since 1980 and this vote is expected to be hotly contested.
___
More news from AP Africa:
