Chamisa threatens election boycott

MDC-T president and MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has threatened to pull out of this year's presidential election, if Zanu-PF's President Emmerson Mnangagwa fails to implement electoral reforms demanded by the opposition.

Chamisa yesterday told thousands of MDC Alliance supporters at Chinhoyi's Gadzema Stadium that he would not agree to be railroaded into an election without the necessary reforms to ensure a level playing field for all the parties.

"MDC will not go into elections before electoral reforms. We are getting briefs from intelligence officers who are telling us of plans to rig the elections. The election is a mere formality because there's no way ED (Mnangagwa) can win an election," Chamisa said.

Mnangagwa rose to power on the back of a military intervention led by then Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces General Constantino Chiwenga that forced former President Robert Mugabe to resign in November last year. The former army chief is now Mnangagwa's Vice-President.

"We want to thank General Chiwenga for helping us remove Mugabe, but it is time he goes home to rest," Chamisa told supporters. The MDC-T leader assured supporters that his administration would adopt devolution and resolve the cash crisis within two weeks in office by joining the Rand Union.

"The governance culture will change. The president would be required to answer questions in government every two months (sic). Civil servants above 65 (years) must be retired," he said.

Chamisa also took a dig at partisan traditional leaders campaigning for Zanu-PF.

"Traditional leaders are being abused by Zanu-PF. Food aid must be distributed fairly not according to party affiliation," he said.

"The first thing the MDC will do is ban the bond note and return to multi-currency system, using (South African) rand and (US) dollars. The MDC will reopen industries and give people their pensions that were wiped out by inflation."

The opposition leader mocked Mnangagwa for introducing diesel locomotives at a time most countries were using electric trains.

"Surely, we cannot introduce and celebrate diesel trains in 2018. The MDC will build a new rail system with bullet trains between Harare and Bulawayo.
"(Former Rhodesian leader) Ian Smith had a plan to build a road and gas pipeline from Lupane (Matabeleland North) to Mozambique. The MDC will simply revive that plan because a good plan has no colour or race.

"Zimbabwe needs $14,9 billion for infrastructure development and those who want to provide that money asked what we have in return. We told them we have 60 different minerals. Zimbabwe has enough gas to feed the rest of Africa for the next 200 years," Chamisa said.

People's Democratic Party leader Tendai Biti addressed the same rally, saying the MDC Alliance government would have an economic plan to revive the economy. Zimbabwe People First leader Aggripah Mutambara claimed that there was a sinister plot to assassinate Chamisa.

"But we will not allow it, we are more than them. So, let's not allow them the chance. Chamisa is the link with the future, Mnangagwa is link with the past, he is link with violence and Mugabe, but we link with the future," Mutambara said.