Concerning Pattern

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A Zimbabwean court upheld a ban on a planned campaign rally by the country’s main opposition party, a ruling that could raise political tensions as the southern African nation prepares for an intense election next month, Africanews reported.

Over the weekend, police banned the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party from holding its campaign launch in the town of Bindura, around 60 miles north of the capital Harare.

Authorities cited problems with the venue and a “high risk of threat to the spread” of communicable diseases.

The party challenged the matter at Zimbabwe’s High Court, but a judge referred the case back to the lower court Sunday. The Bindura court then upheld the ban, saying the CCC had failed to notify the police on time, Reuters noted.

The decision prompted criticism from CCC supporters and marked the fourth party meeting to be banned nationwide within a week.

The recent ban comes as the long-ruling ZANU-PF party faces a tense race in the August 23 polls. The party has governed Zimbabwe for 43 years since the country’s independence from the United Kingdom.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa – who replaced former strongman President Robert Mugabe in 2017 after a military-led coup – is seeking re-election.

Even so, political analysts and opposition lawmakers warned that the recent bans could reduce the credibility of next month’s polls.