'Mujuru committed to coalition'

NATIONAL People's Party (NPP) leader Joice Mujuru yesterday said she is still interested in working with all the progressive forces to dislodge President Robert Mugabe from power next year.

Mujuru, through her spokesperson, Gift Nyandoro, said her party would work with all principled leaders.

"Mujuru remains committed to a meaningful coalition that seeks to liberate Zimbabwe from the slavery yoke of President Mugabe. For the record, Mujuru has been consistent that she is ready to work with other progressive forces within the rank and file of the opposition.
She has no desire at any minute to deviate from that principled position," Nyandoro said.

Nyandoro said remarks by NPP spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire that opposition leaders who endorsed MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai during a National Electoral Reform Agenda (Nera) demonstration last week jumped the gun, were personal and should be treated as such and not as the party's position.

"For the record, if you read Mawarire's statement, it is clearly indicative that he was simply expressing his personal views which are not the president's or party position. Rather he used the 'I', being to say he was simply expressing his opinion which we think is the democratic right of any citizen," he said.

Nyandoro, however, said due process should be followed in choosing a coalition leader and those that endorsed Tsvangirai were doing so in their personal capacities.

"Whoever endorsed Tsvangirai as the legitimate leader for the grand coalition we believe it is neither here nor there for the simple reason that a grand coalition can only be a product of interaction and negotiation among the progressive opposition players," he said.

"We equally believe, if the endorsements were done, were a mere reflection of those individuals' personal taste and not necessarily a collective process of the bargain process."

Nyandoro reiterated the need to have a coalition only of progressive forces.

Regarding the issue of former colleagues like ZimPF under the caretaker leadership of Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo, Nyandoro said they could not dictate their inclusion in the coalition.

He said if need be, as NPP they would make a decision when the time comes.

"In our view as a political party, those individuals remain expelled. Put the other way, if indeed they are to join other progressive forces in the name of having formed their own party, who are we to interfere with their participation to liberate people from Mugabe's oppression?" he said.