Opposition calls off by-election campaigning

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party said on Wednesday that political violence and threats have forced it to call off election campaigning ahead of a weekend poll to fill an empty parliament seat, the Associated Press reported.

One man has died from gunshot wounds in the run up to the vote and another is in critical condition after being slashed with an axe during clashes between rival party supporters in the past week. Shadreck Chipangura, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change’s candidate for the Marondera West district, 50 km southwest of Harare, said party organisers advised him to stop campaigning. “Wherever I go, our supporters are thrashed when I have left. It happens during the night,” he said.