News / National
Mugabe political comeback dismissed
27 Mar 2018 at 16:57hrs | Views
As Zimbabwe prepares to hold its first general election since Robert Mugabe stepped down as President, rumours persist about the most improbable of all comebacks.
There were joyous scenes on the streets of Harare - and many other Zimbabwean cities - when Bob finally yielded to his own party's demands, requiring him to vacate office in November 2017. But were those celebrations a little premature?
Almost unfathomably, Mugabe seems to be politically active again. He's officially put his support behind the newly-established National Patriotic Front (NPF), lead by Ambrose Mutinhiri.
Robert Mugabe and the NPF
Featuring former members of Mugabe's cabinet - and running with a very anti-Emmerson Mnangagwa rhetoric - the NPF are expected to be on the ballot for the vote, due in either July or August. Is the door perhaps ajar for the 94-year-old former dictator?
According to Wits University Professor Roger Southall, the answer is a resounding "no". The political specialist believes the damage has been done to the public image of the Mugabe family, and Robert is not as influential as he'd like to believe he is:
"Mugabe is yesterday's man. By an overwhelming majority, Zimbabweans were glad to see the back of him. Grace is still unpopular too, and key people backing her faction have since been widely discredited."
"The only real danger that Zanu-PF face would come in marginally-held seats. Mugabe's home area may be the only place that the NPF could creep in. This wouldn't be enough to plot a return path for him, though."
Will the MDC challenge Zanu-PF
Southall also spoke to us about the challenge the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) can mount. He believes they are victims of their own internal politics and would have to manage every constituency branch of their party in a way that saw no MDC faction run against each other.
He then stated that no opposition party whatsoever is in a position to challenge Zanu-PF. In his view, the party are happy to hold these elections mainly because they're confident of winning, rather than committing to a new dawn of democracy.
There were joyous scenes on the streets of Harare - and many other Zimbabwean cities - when Bob finally yielded to his own party's demands, requiring him to vacate office in November 2017. But were those celebrations a little premature?
Almost unfathomably, Mugabe seems to be politically active again. He's officially put his support behind the newly-established National Patriotic Front (NPF), lead by Ambrose Mutinhiri.
Robert Mugabe and the NPF
Featuring former members of Mugabe's cabinet - and running with a very anti-Emmerson Mnangagwa rhetoric - the NPF are expected to be on the ballot for the vote, due in either July or August. Is the door perhaps ajar for the 94-year-old former dictator?
According to Wits University Professor Roger Southall, the answer is a resounding "no". The political specialist believes the damage has been done to the public image of the Mugabe family, and Robert is not as influential as he'd like to believe he is:
"Mugabe is yesterday's man. By an overwhelming majority, Zimbabweans were glad to see the back of him. Grace is still unpopular too, and key people backing her faction have since been widely discredited."
"The only real danger that Zanu-PF face would come in marginally-held seats. Mugabe's home area may be the only place that the NPF could creep in. This wouldn't be enough to plot a return path for him, though."
Will the MDC challenge Zanu-PF
Southall also spoke to us about the challenge the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) can mount. He believes they are victims of their own internal politics and would have to manage every constituency branch of their party in a way that saw no MDC faction run against each other.
He then stated that no opposition party whatsoever is in a position to challenge Zanu-PF. In his view, the party are happy to hold these elections mainly because they're confident of winning, rather than committing to a new dawn of democracy.
Source - thesouthafrican
