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Welshman Ncube defends by-election boycott
23 May 2015 at 16:56hrs | Views
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) faction leader Welshman Ncube on Friday defended his party's decision to boycott parliamentary by-elections set for June 10, saying the opposition did not intend "to dress the devil in pin-striped suits".
Ncube said his party, which split from the mainstream MDC led by former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in 2005, did not see any value in participating in an unfree and fair election.
"My point is simple: why participate in a handicap match adjudicated by your rival (and) whose outcome is predetermined by hook and crook?" he tweeted.
Ncube, who was industry minister in the short-lived coalition government with President Robert Mugabe's governing Zanu PF and Tsvangirai's MDC, noted that millions of young Zimbabwe would be disenfranchised by an electoral system modelled along "one party democracy"
"The MDC and I are in it for the long-haul - to win - not just dressing the devil in pin-striped suits to conceal its evil nature," he said, noting that the opposition was prepared to defer "our dreams for better national good rather than pursuing rent-seeking parochial interests."
Zimbabweans are due to go for by-elections to choose parliamentary deputies for 14 constituencies that fell vacant after Tsvangirai's MDC recalled its lawmakers who had defected to another party.
Ncube said his party, which split from the mainstream MDC led by former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in 2005, did not see any value in participating in an unfree and fair election.
"My point is simple: why participate in a handicap match adjudicated by your rival (and) whose outcome is predetermined by hook and crook?" he tweeted.
Ncube, who was industry minister in the short-lived coalition government with President Robert Mugabe's governing Zanu PF and Tsvangirai's MDC, noted that millions of young Zimbabwe would be disenfranchised by an electoral system modelled along "one party democracy"
"The MDC and I are in it for the long-haul - to win - not just dressing the devil in pin-striped suits to conceal its evil nature," he said, noting that the opposition was prepared to defer "our dreams for better national good rather than pursuing rent-seeking parochial interests."
Zimbabweans are due to go for by-elections to choose parliamentary deputies for 14 constituencies that fell vacant after Tsvangirai's MDC recalled its lawmakers who had defected to another party.
Source - APA
