Adopt Gambian, Kenyan style of resistance against Zanu-PF'

PEOPLE's Democratic Party leader, Tendai Biti has challenged fellow opposition leaders to adopt the Gambian and Kenyan style of resistance against the Zanu-PF regime and demand media and electoral reforms ahead of next year's general elections.

Speaking at a public dialogue organised by Southern Africa Political and Economic Series (Sapes) Trust in Harare last Thursday, Biti said it was fool-hardy for opposition parties to expect Zanu-PF to voluntarily reform itself out of power.

"We need to do smart politics, uniting the Gambian style of December 2016 or the Kenyan way of 2002, just to confront the dictator and maybe resort to our different agendas after the military regime has been replaced by a people-centred and transformation-oriented leadership," he said.

"Thought leadership would be the only hope for Zimbabwe to claw back and recapture the election.

"Political parties, social movements, civic society and labour, need to come together and continue the resistance of 2016, resistance must, among other issues, be for media and electoral reforms, including the demand to exercise the right to vote by those in the Diaspora."

Biti added that actors involved in negotiating or participating in a broad coalition of political parties must bear in mind that power-sharing is not the agenda of the alliance.

"What must be on the agenda is a vision for real transformation, which is the only thing that Zanu-PF is afraid of because they know it will form a real alternative, which can threaten the continued military hold in the country," he said.