Opinion / Columnist
Yes to dialogue, no to GNU!
13 Dec 2018 at 11:25hrs | Views
Soon after the Constitutional Court ruled that Emmerson Mnangagwa had legitimately won the presidential election, throwing out the MDC's case, the president put out a Facebook post calling for unity. The post included one particularly important line – "Nelson Chamisa, my door is open and my arms are outstretched, we are one nation, and we must put our nation first."
This was a clear message from ED that dialogue will always be welcome, provided its goal is to put Zimbabwe first.
I mention this post as this issue has returned to the news over the past few days, following EDs recent comments that there is no chance of a government of national unity, which some have seized on to argue that ED is turning his back on his offer of dialogue.
However, this argument is historical revisionism, pure and simple. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
ED's rejection of a GNU is based on the fact that he won the presidential election clearly – by over 300,000 votes – and that ZANU-PF won over two thirds of the seats in parliament. Therefore, a GNU (which is designed for cases in which the election result is unclear or particularly close) is clearly not relevant. ED won the right to govern this country.
However, what he has not done is turn his back on dialogue. The president has been consistent in his offer of dialogue and engagement with the opposition, and he has proved himself to be open to talk to anyone for the good of the country, without preconditions.
Despite what some of the loudest and most outspoken MDC supporters would have us believe, the real barrier to a productive national dialogue is Nelson Chamisa.
For it is Chamisa who never answered ED's offer and knocked on his open door. It is Chamisa who has placed a list of impossible conditions on dialogue, which he knows will never be answered. And it is Chamisa who has refused to accept the authority of the president, despite the people, the courts and the international community recognising the election result.
At school, we were always taught to be good sportsmen and women. To be good winners AND to be good losers.
ED won the election, and despite provocations and insults, has remained open to engagement with those he defeated. He has been a good winner.
The same cannot be said of Chamisa, who has shown himself to be a sore loser, completely out of touch with the views of the silent majority of the public who simply want to move on.
Whatever he might want us to believe, it is Chamisa who is the barrier to dialogue, and it is Chamisa who must change his stance if our leaders are to work together. To claim otherwise is to wilfully misrepresent the facts
This was a clear message from ED that dialogue will always be welcome, provided its goal is to put Zimbabwe first.
I mention this post as this issue has returned to the news over the past few days, following EDs recent comments that there is no chance of a government of national unity, which some have seized on to argue that ED is turning his back on his offer of dialogue.
However, this argument is historical revisionism, pure and simple. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
ED's rejection of a GNU is based on the fact that he won the presidential election clearly – by over 300,000 votes – and that ZANU-PF won over two thirds of the seats in parliament. Therefore, a GNU (which is designed for cases in which the election result is unclear or particularly close) is clearly not relevant. ED won the right to govern this country.
However, what he has not done is turn his back on dialogue. The president has been consistent in his offer of dialogue and engagement with the opposition, and he has proved himself to be open to talk to anyone for the good of the country, without preconditions.
For it is Chamisa who never answered ED's offer and knocked on his open door. It is Chamisa who has placed a list of impossible conditions on dialogue, which he knows will never be answered. And it is Chamisa who has refused to accept the authority of the president, despite the people, the courts and the international community recognising the election result.
At school, we were always taught to be good sportsmen and women. To be good winners AND to be good losers.
ED won the election, and despite provocations and insults, has remained open to engagement with those he defeated. He has been a good winner.
The same cannot be said of Chamisa, who has shown himself to be a sore loser, completely out of touch with the views of the silent majority of the public who simply want to move on.
Whatever he might want us to believe, it is Chamisa who is the barrier to dialogue, and it is Chamisa who must change his stance if our leaders are to work together. To claim otherwise is to wilfully misrepresent the facts
Source - Faith Hope
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