MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai has almost tied down a deal for a coalition that is likely to present a single presidential candidate against veteran Zanu PF leader, President Robert Mugabe, in elections expected next year.
The former Prime Minister indicated to the South African television station ANN7’s Africa Tonight programme early this week that the envisaged coalition is to include former Zanu PF Vice-President and now leader of Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF), Joice Mujuru.
“Just wait until the election coalition or alliance is unveiled. We are busy looking at every aspect and one of the critical things is that we have a plan that we need to change the culture that Zanu PF introduced for the last four decades or so,” he said.
Coalition talks have hogged the limelight in Zimbabwe’s political landscape, with a Tsvangirai and Mujuru pact expected to present the greatest threat to Mugabe’s hold on power. Mujuru was unceremoniously expelled from Zanu PF at the tail-end of 2014 for allegedly plotting to oust Mugabe, including a sinister assassination plot that she has vehemently denied.
Tsvangirai said the coalition would need to instill a new political culture in Zimbabwe after decades of violence, particularly during election periods.
“We need an institutional transformation agenda that is going to change the way we do things. The policies we put must attract international confidence, which is what we are looking at.
“We have to restore the freedoms of Zimbabweans, no more disappearance of Zimbabweans, no more brutalising by the police just because people have expressed themselves. I think these are rights that Zimbabweans must enjoy,” he said.
Tsvangirai has lost three successive presidential bids against Mugabe, but alleges electoral fraud and violence against his supporters.
The MDC-T leader said while talks continue, the opposition groups in Zimbabwe would focus their energies on ensuring electoral reforms are implemented ahead of the crunch polls.
“One of the focuses for 2017 would be to push for electoral reforms. It is going to be our rallying cry because we believe that if we go and have an election under the same conditions, the outcome would be a miscarriage of democracy and the will of the people,” Tsvangirai said.
The MDC-T leader defended his long stay as opposition leader, saying he still enjoyed the support of his party and he had not yet achieved the main agenda of the struggle.
He drew parallels with South Africa’s ruling party, African National Congress struggle stalwarts, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela, who continued in leadership up to the time South Africa was freed from the shackles of apartheid.
Tsvangirai, who drew fire after appointing two more vice-presidents in the MDC-T after being diagnosed with cancer of the colon last year, denied that he was grooming Nelson Chamisa, as his successor, arguing “it would be undemocratic”.
Chamisa was appointed along with Elias Mudzuri to join Thokozani Khupe, as deputy presidents, with insiders claiming this was meant to deal with internal factional fights. – Newsday
and i told you Mthwakhazi/matebeleland does not decide anything in zanupf. many of you are very blind to that and fill these pages with a lot of munangagwa Gukurahundi hatred. But it does not make decisions its just hatred. period.Decisions are made elsewhere. I also pointed out that it was a mistake for those protesting Gukurahundi to walk out on zanupf. Now they are outside and can no longer exercise their vote rejecting munangagwa. Moyo alone cannot cannot cahnge anything.
Stop going off on a tangent and bringing in irrelevant issues.
I said, lo Mnangagwa wakho vele ngeke abe ngu President. Thats all.
Uzwile naaa?
Coalitions will not win elections if you don’t close the rigging loophole.
tomorrow or a few weeks or months from today joice mujuru biti or some other such will be distancing themselves from Morgans ‘story .
the truth is very painful. But what you must be aware of is matebeleland is not in zanupf in large numbers. You guys ran away protesting Gukurahundi. So those remaining do not represent matebeleland in large numbers. Munangagwa will be president. Its painful but that is going to happen.
uMnangagwa wakho lo will never be President. Uyafunga uMthwakazi. Uyezwa?
Tsvangison, if you talk about Electoral Reforms, we will sit up and support you all the way. You have always had the numbers at every election. Its good you now realise the numbers don’t work with ZANU PF. Dismantle the Vote Rigging machine.
No details have been provided and what do you want to be watertight (give an example)
It should be a well thought out plan and one which is not prematurely splashed in the media before it is water tight.This is not warter tight
WHAT is pathetic. I find good sense in a suggestion that the starting point should be to disentangle the country from ZANU PF. Don’t you?
Good analysis…not zvemamwe madinga!
Pathetic. Tsvangirai runs to the press eith an aulmost deal? Not a done deal?. Anofu ga za upf willbe9 seating on their laurels? I doubt. That coalition will produce8 anything. Remember 2008? He cannot aynd they all cannot defend the vote. Bottom line. No electoral reforms
I have never supported zanu pf , it seems haundizive hanti. Some zanoids pano even hate me . Hahahahahaha. Truth is i face facts , hazvina basa kuti facts and reality yataugwa nani . But i like mogiza principles , he is man who i know , even from long time ndichashanda naye in other forums kuti he endeavors to change the coin and not flip the other side
Mugabe flipped the coin and the value never changed .
Zim ne Kenya (Tsvangirai and Odinga) same same…..
I don’t understand you sometimes u sound like a staunch ZANU suppoter or im not seeing correctly.today u supporting mdc where do you stand ndoda
nnxxxx …….!!
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I hv confidence newe. Morgan , mamwe madinga are only targetting kureplacer mugabe, but you just put it right. The culture mugabe regime instilled in zimbabwe is poisonous , we all know he simply adopted the smith regime strategy of staying in power , and he also wanted zimbabweans to remove him in the same way smith was riden, but of course we cant regagitate that old folly poltics . We live in the twenties where open debates and challenges are now our guns. We dont want any hate or bitter speaches but we need developmental debates that result in total imuncipation from porverty and enslavement of fellow citizens