MDC Alliance Agreement, a sellout document

Members of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) say it has seen the contents of the MDC Alliance Agreement reached by the coalition partners including their own party and would like to take this opportunity to distance themselves from such a fraudulent pact.
 
Party's deputy spokesperson George Mkhwananzi said the majority of the ordinary members of PDP are appalled that their trusted leadership has accepted such a surrender document as a coalition agreement upon which the 2018 harmonised elections will be contested in Zimbabwe.

"After the fiasco of the 1987 Zanu-Zapu merger, they never thought they could experience and witness another fraud and chicanery disguised as a Unity Pact in their lifetime. This is not by any stretch of imagination, a coalition pact, it's a sellout document and the people do not want their party to be party to the conscription of their leadership into a MDC T slate. How can such an arrangement be a coalition of equals when the new name of the alliance is MDC, the new leader of the alliance is the MDC T leader, the new slogan of the alliance is the MDC T slogan, the new party symbol of the alliance is the MDC party symbol? PDP rejects this fraud with all the contempt it deserves," he said.

"Ever since its formation PDP has struggled to convince its critics that it has a credible following outside the 3 Matabeleland provinces, Midlands, Masvingo, Manicaland and Mashonaland East provinces. All the massively successful party activities that the party has held so far were those hosted in Matabeleland and the other four provinces mentioned above. These include the open air rallies, the Party Anniversary in 2016, Women Assembly marches and the Africa Day Celebrations in May 2017."

He said at the Party's Elective National Convention held in 2015 and hosted by Harare, the largest number of delegates came from Manicaland followed by Mashonaland East provinces yet these strongholds of the party have nothing in this deal.

"Harare and Chitungwiza were a total embarrassment as they only managed to bring their provincial executives yet this deal makes them the biggest beneficiaries and now stand to harvest undeserved seats for themselves in parliament and Harare City Council as councillors and Deputy Mayor. It would be very dangerous for the party leadership in Harare to negotiate personal packages under the coalition while overlooking the party's strongholds outside the capital," he said.

"The Agrippa Mutambara Saga. You're as bad or good as the company that you keep. PDP has no intention of being associated with unrepentant and unrehabilitated sexual offenders. The MDC Alliance parliamentary seats distribution is not just lousy, it is ridiculous. Some parties were allocated seats that are more than their total membership nationally and in the Diaspora. Apart from MDC T and PDP no other party deserves more than 15 seats. Some of the parties have never had their congress from their inception while others which lost 99% of their leadership and supporters through defections have dodged holding their elective Congresses by over two years."

He said others do not even have complete National Executive Councils let alone Provincial or District structures.

"They have never addressed their own rallies or public meetings outside ZINERA. PDP will therefore not accept any attempt to belittle it and reduce it to a nonentity when it knows very well that it commands massive support second only to the MDC T. We also note with dismay that even senior members of both the MDCT and MDC N are vexed by this deal. The media reports that the MDC T National Chairman, Mr Lovemore Moyo is busy mobilising his party's grassroots in Matabeleland against this fraudulent coalition and this speaks volumes about the lack of consultation within and without the MDC T itself," he said.

"The MDC T Vice President Thokozani Khupe, had to be pummelled into submission by MDC T party thugs because she and other senior party Leaders were averse to the concept, process and procedure of the coalition being conducted outside normal party organs. Similarly, MDC N senior leader and parliamentarian, Priscilla Mushonga has lashed out at the coalition for its lack of transparency and integrity. This is evidently an unpopular deal crafted by a handful of desperate individuals who are driven by self interest. We believe in a genuine coalition where all parties are treated equitably based on their demonstrable mass appeal; that coalition is yet to be born."