The ruling ZANU PF party has indicated the recently held presidential and parliamentary elections were not free and fair, resulting in the party and its president, Robert Mugabe losing many votes.

ZImbabwe Riot Police Guarding The Ballots

Government officials and 'loyal' ministers such as Patrick Chinamasa, Didymus Mutasa, Elliot Manyika, George Charamba and Bright Matonga, are among the few who are making those 'crazy' remarks.

ZANU PF sympathiser and Media and Information Commission (MIC) head, Chinondidyachii Mararike says to a larger extent, the MDC took advantage of the deteriorating economic climate to campaign.

“It is true that the MDC used the escalating inflation, prices of goods and commodities, apart from drought to campaign against ZANU PF.”

In the March 29 harmonised elections, ZANU PF failed to garner the majority of votes in Parliament, on the other hand President Robert Mugabe lost to the MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai but owing to the fact that no-one got more than 50 percent; a run-off is scheduled to take place anytime from now.

According to the MDC, during and after the elections, the public media closed equal access to the opposition despite the SADC guidelines on the conduct of free and fair elections demanding that all parties should be granted equal access.

“Both the Zimbabwe Newspapers such as Herald, Sunday Mail, Chronicle, Sunday News, among others, and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) continue to be purveyors of ZANU PF, and Mugabe,” said the MDC.

Mararike said the MDC should nor cry foul as they used unnecessary means to get more votes in the March 29 elections.

“In fact, the MDC had more coverage than ZANU PF. I think the MDC had more than 80 percent coverage by the international media.”

“If you switched to CNN, BBC, SABC, Sky TV- it was all about the MDC,” he said.

Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister, Chinamasa recently cited the international media as biased.

“In a nutshell, they say nicer things about the MDC- who recently bribed election officials, whilst saying bad things about ZANU PF,” he said.

During the weekend, Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba expressed disappointment in which ZBC TV is covering Mugabe and ZANU PF. The country's only broadcaster is also accused of giving too much coverage to the opposition.

Speaking at the Zimpapers service awards, he said ZBC is not showing 'patriotism' unlike the state-run newspapers, which he commended for a job well done.

“ZBC is not doing enough to protect the hard won gains of the country,” he said.

Zimbabwe is in its eighth year of economic recession, and currently experiencing a food deficit, foreign currency shortage, with an unemployment rate of more than 80 percent.

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