Pressure mounts on Nelson Chamisa

A SECTION of the Mr Nelson Chamisa-led MDC-Alliance had urged the party to abandon its contested name as an identity crisis rocks the opposition movement.

The Mr Chamisa-led group continues to be outsmarted by it's MDC-T rivals led by Dr Thokozani Khupe which stated over the weekend that it was going to contest the coming by-elections using the MDC-Alliance brand.

Dr Khupe's camp has also been recalling legislators and councillors as the fight for control in the opposition gets messy. MDC-Alliance is a coalition of political parties including MDC-T, MDC, the People's Democratic Party among other parties.

The announcement by Dr Khupe's camp caused quandary within the opposition with Mr Chamisa's group insisting that it will not change its name. But the party's sympathisers have challenged it to rebrand, with most of them taking it to micro blogging site Twitter to articulate their position.

Former advisor to late MDC-T president Morgan Tsvangirai and Mr Chamisa's camp sympathiser Dr Alex Magaisa said it will be prudent for the opposition to abandon the MDC name as it has lost its significance. He explained his position in a blog under the Big Saturday Read posted on his website.

"Some people might see walking away from the existing brand as a weakness; as a form of capitulation. It is not. There is another way to look at it as freedom; that the progressive forces of the MDC family are liberating themselves from the shackles of a much-loved brand which has sadly now run its course and is no longer fit for purpose," he said.

"There are moments in life when courage is defined by the ability and willingness to drop what you love the most because it no longer serves your interests. You have to be prepared to leave it because it has become toxic and counterproductive. It is my respectful submission that despite the sentimental value; despite the weight of history and residual asset value, the MDC brand has now accumulated toxic baggage in quantities that have polluted the political ecosystem so that political life is now imperilled."

United Kingdom-based journalist Lance Guma concurred with Dr Magaisa, stating that he previously made a submission that the MDC-Alliance needs to rebrand.

"I said it in April and I will repeat it again. As long as the MDC-Alliance does not have the courage to come up with a new name, they are doomed to be fighting muppets who have no support except the poisoned legal juice they get from Zanu-PF," said Guma, stating that Zanu-PF cannot be blamed for MDC-Alliance's leadership's indecision.

"I don''t feel sorry for them, they know what they must do to get out of this entanglement with time-wasting muppets. That they persist with the current indecision means they prefer the sympathy from playing victim while blaming Zanu-PF for something they can solve easily."

Self-exiled former Cabinet Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo said while the MDC-Alliance should not change its name, it should form an alliance ahead of the by-elections.

"Having contested the 2018 elections as a political party and having constituted itself into a political party; the MDC-A should now forge a new electoral pact under a new umbrella to contest elections. A recent example is the TONSE alliance in Malawi!," tweeted Prof Moyo.

South Africa's former Democratic Alliance leader Mr Mmusi Maimane also called for Chamisa to change the name of the party.

"My brother @nelsonchamisa change the organisational name to 'Change Alliance' and keep it moving. Do not allow this to become a stumbling block. People know who is who and what is what," tweeted Maimane.