News / Local
Zapu rules out pre-election alliance
19 Jul 2012 at 12:52hrs | Views
ZAPU president, Dumiso Dabengwa (pictured) has ruled out swirling intimations that his party would seek out an alliance with other political parties in a bid to boost its chances of unseating President Robert Mugabe at the next elections.
President Mugabe is Zanu-PF's presidential candidate in the next elections that the party wants staged this year. He will be standing in his seventh consecutive presidential contest in his 30 year-uninterrupted rule.
The next elections would see new political parties such as ZAPU, Ncube's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and the Job Sikhala-led MDC-99 make a beeline in the race to enter Zimbabwe's political landscape, which has largely been fought between President Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
It had been hoped that the smaller parties would coalesce around the premier's MDC-T party to form a united front against Zanu-PF but none of the parties has committed to the coalition.
In an interview with The Financial Gazette this week, Dabengwa said ZAPU would only consider a coalition after the elections.
"We are making preparations to go to the polls when they are called in order to win sufficient votes to form a government. It's not our intention to dislodge President Mugabe, but we want to garner more votes than Zanu-PF," he said.
"If we don't score success in that area, then after the elections we may be open to a coalition of sorts and work together with other political parties that share close objectives and concerns".
ZAPU has had a lukewarm reception in the three Matabeleland provinces, which are largely dominated by the MDC-T. But even the MDC-T has been on the receiving end of the troubles in the provinces - hard-hit by defections of over 250 members to the Welshman Ncube-led MDC.
Dabengwa said the problems rocking rival political parties in the Matabeleland provinces were "a natural phenomenon in politics".
President Mugabe is Zanu-PF's presidential candidate in the next elections that the party wants staged this year. He will be standing in his seventh consecutive presidential contest in his 30 year-uninterrupted rule.
The next elections would see new political parties such as ZAPU, Ncube's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and the Job Sikhala-led MDC-99 make a beeline in the race to enter Zimbabwe's political landscape, which has largely been fought between President Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
It had been hoped that the smaller parties would coalesce around the premier's MDC-T party to form a united front against Zanu-PF but none of the parties has committed to the coalition.
In an interview with The Financial Gazette this week, Dabengwa said ZAPU would only consider a coalition after the elections.
"We are making preparations to go to the polls when they are called in order to win sufficient votes to form a government. It's not our intention to dislodge President Mugabe, but we want to garner more votes than Zanu-PF," he said.
"If we don't score success in that area, then after the elections we may be open to a coalition of sorts and work together with other political parties that share close objectives and concerns".
ZAPU has had a lukewarm reception in the three Matabeleland provinces, which are largely dominated by the MDC-T. But even the MDC-T has been on the receiving end of the troubles in the provinces - hard-hit by defections of over 250 members to the Welshman Ncube-led MDC.
Dabengwa said the problems rocking rival political parties in the Matabeleland provinces were "a natural phenomenon in politics".
Source - fingaz
