Tsvangirai threatens to boycott polls

MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday threatened to boycott harmonised elections if they are held by 31 July. However, his threats were immediately dismissed by Zanu-PF spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo, who said the decision by the Constitutional Court was final and there would be no postponement of the crucial polls expected to end the tenure of the inclusive Government, the Chronicle reported.

"We are not going to postpone the elections because the decision by the court is final. If Mr Tsvangirai says he wants to boycott he can go ahead. As far as Zanu-PF is concerned we are going ahead with the elections.

"We will not allow outside forces to dictate to us on how and when we should hold our own elections," said Cde Gumbo.

Mr Tsvangirai made the threat while addressing leaders and representatives of civic organisations in Bulawayo yesterday.

He reiterated that the elections should be held by 31 October despite a ruling by the Constitutional Court.

"We are worried about some individuals manipulating the courts on the issue of elections. In responding to an individual applicant you want to marginalise and undermine the rights of millions of Zimbabweans because you have not fulfilled certain constitutional positions required by the constitution before holding an election.

"We need media reforms, we want a partial and non-partisan State media and a security sector which is professional and that does not campaign for any political party," he said.

"We want a voter registration for anyone who wants to vote in the election and therefore voters must not be disenfranchised whether an alien or first time voter, they must be allowed to vote in terms of the constitution.

"The old constitution is very clear as far as Amendment Number 19 is concerned. It says the President and Prime Minister shall decide and consult each other and I was not consulted.

"President Mugabe says he is going to comply with the court ruling but it is not practical if the outcome is not going to be contested.

"We might consider boycotting in the absence of media and security sector reforms. We can only have a free and fair credible election by end of October not within six weeks."

Mr Tsvangirai refuted reports that his visit to Bulawayo was to try and quell factionalism that has rocked his party in the province.

Mr Tsvangirai also met the local business community during which participants grilled him over failure by his party to come up with tangible policies to arrest the de-industrialisation of the city.

Participants asked Mr Tsvangirai to explain how his party would effectively deal with the issue of company closures and the re-location of firms to other cities in the event that his party wins the elections.

"Let's not continue to complain about the challenges facing the City of Bulawayo because I don't have the solutions and answers to those questions. In fact, we should actually debate on the issue and find common ground to addressing that.

"The other problematic issue in Bulawayo is that of water. The critical issue is not about what is happening now but about the future in the face of de-industrialisation. We need to come up with a plan so that Bulawayo regains its status as the industrial hub of the country," said Mr Tsvangirai in response.

Mr Tsvangirai said that once in power MDC-T would address the issue of unemployment.

"Our governance structure must shun the culture of corruption. We need a transformation of our governance structures and we will address the issue of unemployment," he said.

Mr Tsvangirai yesterday held a series of meetings with different organisations.

He met provincial party structures, civic organisations and the local business community.

Today, he will visit Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) offices and seek audience with unions at the National Railways of Zimbabwe.