News / National
Opposition parties yet to come together for coalition against Zanu PF
23 Apr 2016 at 07:41hrs | Views
Opposition parties are yet to come together and map out a strategy for a grand coalition against President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF in the 2018 elections.
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, Welshman Ncube, said opposition parties were still working behind the scenes to find common ground before the 2018 polls, but dismissed talk of a grand coalition.
"I don't like the term grand coalition. I don't know what would make it a grand coalition, but all I can say and I am able to say is that everyone is talking to everyone bilaterally, multilaterally and hopefully we would be able to talk to each other more formally," he said.
The opposition parties, which lost to ZANU-PF in the 2013 polls, have for nearly three years been locked in talks to form a coalition against ZANU-PF. The coalition is expected to involve all major opposition political parties which include Ncube's MDC, the MDC-T led by Morgan Tsvangirai, ZAPU led by Dumiso Dabengwa, Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn led by Simba Makoni, People's Democratic Party led by Tendai Biti and Zimbabwe People First led by Joice Mujuru.
Ncube admitted that it had dawned upon the opposition that the past 15 years had proved that there was no single opposition party in Zimbabwe with the capacity to confront and defeat President Mugabe's ZANU-PF.
"The important thing for us is to embrace and accept that we must work together," he said.
"If we fail in finding common ground it would not be out of a failure of trying, it would be out of a failure to realise the imperative of unity, the imperative of working together," Ncube said.
"Of course time is of the essence. We have basically 22 months to the next elections, which is approximately one-and-a-half years and the last 12 months we would really be campaigning. We really need to find each other much sooner, indeed before the end of this year."
He said the challenge was finding an agreement as soon as possible. "It is about genuine political differences in what we should stand for and the values and principles that we believe in; the sort of government that we would form if we win," he explained.
"So we should not trivialise the things which should be negotiated and addressed and say if we take away egos they will go away, they will not go away, because those problems are genuine and sincere and they are around the issues of use of violence, around the issues of democracy, collective decision-making. We need to address those issues to the satisfaction of everybody so that we can act collectively together."
He said it was possible for the opposition parties in the country to find common ground at the end of the day.
"I think as the opposition talks to each other, it is important for us to realise that those things which have divided us are genuine, are sincere and then we say how then we can address each other's concerns and problems and I think we will be faster in finding each other."
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, Welshman Ncube, said opposition parties were still working behind the scenes to find common ground before the 2018 polls, but dismissed talk of a grand coalition.
"I don't like the term grand coalition. I don't know what would make it a grand coalition, but all I can say and I am able to say is that everyone is talking to everyone bilaterally, multilaterally and hopefully we would be able to talk to each other more formally," he said.
The opposition parties, which lost to ZANU-PF in the 2013 polls, have for nearly three years been locked in talks to form a coalition against ZANU-PF. The coalition is expected to involve all major opposition political parties which include Ncube's MDC, the MDC-T led by Morgan Tsvangirai, ZAPU led by Dumiso Dabengwa, Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn led by Simba Makoni, People's Democratic Party led by Tendai Biti and Zimbabwe People First led by Joice Mujuru.
Ncube admitted that it had dawned upon the opposition that the past 15 years had proved that there was no single opposition party in Zimbabwe with the capacity to confront and defeat President Mugabe's ZANU-PF.
"The important thing for us is to embrace and accept that we must work together," he said.
"Of course time is of the essence. We have basically 22 months to the next elections, which is approximately one-and-a-half years and the last 12 months we would really be campaigning. We really need to find each other much sooner, indeed before the end of this year."
He said the challenge was finding an agreement as soon as possible. "It is about genuine political differences in what we should stand for and the values and principles that we believe in; the sort of government that we would form if we win," he explained.
"So we should not trivialise the things which should be negotiated and addressed and say if we take away egos they will go away, they will not go away, because those problems are genuine and sincere and they are around the issues of use of violence, around the issues of democracy, collective decision-making. We need to address those issues to the satisfaction of everybody so that we can act collectively together."
He said it was possible for the opposition parties in the country to find common ground at the end of the day.
"I think as the opposition talks to each other, it is important for us to realise that those things which have divided us are genuine, are sincere and then we say how then we can address each other's concerns and problems and I think we will be faster in finding each other."
Source - Financial Gazette
