News / National
Khupe parliament return a fraud, cries Mahere
07 Oct 2020 at 01:54hrs | Views
MDC Alliance spokesperson, Fadzayi Mahere has maintained the controversial return of acting MDC-T leader Thokozani Khupe to parliament was a fraud.
Khupe bounced back to parliament on the back of expulsions on legislators who had initially been elected to the house on an MDC Alliance ticket.
Over 30 MDC Alliance MPs and councillors have been recalled by Khupe from both parliament and local authorities by the MDC-T.
The expulsions are a culmination of an intense battle for MDC control by former party co-VPs Nelson Chamisa and Khupe.
Zimbabwean courts this year declared Khupe should become interim party leader pending the election of a new president following the death in 2018, of party founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Khupe is now back in the house occupying the position of one of the proportional representation MPs who were recalled.
In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com, Mahere said it was unreasonable for Khupe to return to parliament after she performed dismally in the 2018 presidential elections.
"Khupe was rejected by the people in 2018. It is a fraud that she is now returning to parliament through the backdoor and as the leader of a party that beat her by over two million votes.
"There can be no greater electoral theft than this one," said Mahere.
In 2018, Khupe contested for president in a poll which saw her emerge a distant third from eventual winner, President Emmerson Mnangagwa and MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa.
Mahere argued that Section 117 of the Constitution states that the legislative authority is derived from the people.
She added, "No other person or institution has the mandate or authority to reinstall Khupe into parliament. The result is that parliament is now tainted by the legitimacy crisis."
The MDC Alliance spokesperson also hit out at Mnangagwa's government for suspending by-elections.
"The biggest victim of this showboating has been the will of the people and the daily struggles that they face, a broken economy, the crisis in education and crippled public health.
"To top it all, Zanu-PF has banned elections, confirming what we have said all along. Mnangagwa presides over a violent, fascist dictatorship that is at war with the people. Democracy is dead.
"We will continue to fight against this attempt to return Zimbabwe to a one-party state," she added.
Khupe bounced back to parliament on the back of expulsions on legislators who had initially been elected to the house on an MDC Alliance ticket.
Over 30 MDC Alliance MPs and councillors have been recalled by Khupe from both parliament and local authorities by the MDC-T.
The expulsions are a culmination of an intense battle for MDC control by former party co-VPs Nelson Chamisa and Khupe.
Zimbabwean courts this year declared Khupe should become interim party leader pending the election of a new president following the death in 2018, of party founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Khupe is now back in the house occupying the position of one of the proportional representation MPs who were recalled.
In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com, Mahere said it was unreasonable for Khupe to return to parliament after she performed dismally in the 2018 presidential elections.
"Khupe was rejected by the people in 2018. It is a fraud that she is now returning to parliament through the backdoor and as the leader of a party that beat her by over two million votes.
"There can be no greater electoral theft than this one," said Mahere.
In 2018, Khupe contested for president in a poll which saw her emerge a distant third from eventual winner, President Emmerson Mnangagwa and MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa.
Mahere argued that Section 117 of the Constitution states that the legislative authority is derived from the people.
She added, "No other person or institution has the mandate or authority to reinstall Khupe into parliament. The result is that parliament is now tainted by the legitimacy crisis."
The MDC Alliance spokesperson also hit out at Mnangagwa's government for suspending by-elections.
"The biggest victim of this showboating has been the will of the people and the daily struggles that they face, a broken economy, the crisis in education and crippled public health.
"To top it all, Zanu-PF has banned elections, confirming what we have said all along. Mnangagwa presides over a violent, fascist dictatorship that is at war with the people. Democracy is dead.
"We will continue to fight against this attempt to return Zimbabwe to a one-party state," she added.
Source - newzimbabwe
