Chamisa turns Alliance into party . . . poll boycott still an option

OPPOSITION MDC Alliance presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa yesterday turned the seven-party coalition group into a political party after the courts took too long to resolve his legal wrangle with his rival Thokozani Khupe over use of the MDC-T party symbols ahead of the nomination court's sitting.

"We are filing as the MDC Alliance to distinguish us from our other cousins. For the purposes of this election the MDC Alliance is a political formation," said MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora.

"We did that to get around the legal hurdles on whether we are a political party or not. And yes we are a political party. We hope Zec (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) sticks to what is fair to start the ballot by the surname not first name in order to suit certain candidates."

He added that the MDC Alliance leader will have power to recall legislators if need be.

"The parliamentarians will be recalled by the MDC-T on behalf of the alliance. They will be recalled by the president of the alliance. The president of the alliance is clothed with powers to do that. It's not peculiar to our leader alone," Mwonzora said.

Both Mwonzora and Chamisa's chief election agent Jameson Timba warned yesterday that the party might pull out of the election race if Zec continues to withhold the voters' roll and refuses to accede to their demand for reforms ahead of the polls.

"Boycotting the election is the last resort but given the pain Zimbabweans have gone through we are preparing for the elections. Boycotting is a political possibility but at the moment we are concentrating on giving Zimbabweans an alternative in this election," Mwonzora said.

Timba chipped in: "Our president said if the demands are not met there will be no election, and I would like to reiterate that. Do not underestimate our president's resolve and capacity to follow this through."

Mwonzora added that the MDC-T would continue to dictate terms in the alliance since it was the main player.

"It's not fair to equalise the unequal. The MDC-T will dominate the alliance," he said.

The former Nyanga North legislator also closed the door on former President Robert Mugabe's National Patriotic Front (NPF).

"We have not been in discussions with the NPF. We have talked to individuals and they will stand in select constituencies. We have no agreement with the NPF," he said.