News / National
Zimbabwe's main opposition implodes, handing Zanu-PF full control
10 Oct 2023 at 13:30hrs | Views
Just over a month after disputed general elections in Zimbabwe, the main opposition party, Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), appears to be imploding as a renegade outfit starts recalling parliamentarians.
Led by one Sengezo Tshabangu, who claims to be the party's secretary-general, they have recalled 15 lawmakers from Bulawayo and Matabeleland North who, in turn, have gone to court to challenge their expulsions.
In an interview with News24, Tshabangu said there would be a second, third, or even fourth round of recalls, and that would encompass legislators from other parts of the country.
"We are cleaning up the party. It's back to basics. Those that we recalled know that they didn't win our primary selection process. Instead, they were handpicked by people in Harare (the capital city) to stand for election. That was not the people's will. All of them will be recalled in later rounds," he said.
In a statement, CCC spokesperson Promise Mkhwananzi accused Tshabangu and those working with him behind the scenes of being auxiliaries of Zanu-PF.
He called Tshabangu "a stooge [for] many faces that are yet to come to the open".
"We also warn those among us who are working with Zanu-PF to destroy the people's movement. God will punish you," the statement read.
Tshabangu told News24 that the recalls had nothing to do with Zanu-PF.
"This is purely an internal process, and if we don't deal with it we would set a bad example for Matabeleland and other parts of the country," he said.
Why?
Tshabangu said that for years, it has been taken for granted that Matabeleland and Bulawayo, in particular, present a protest vote for the ruling party, Zanu-PF.
As such, the leadership in opposition circles finds it worthwhile to impose candidates at the expense of locals.
To borrow from the popular saying of the November 2017 coup, he said: "We are dealing with criminal elements around the president (Chamisa)."
The recalls will fall into the lap of Zanu-PF, which fell short of a two-thirds majority at the 23 August elections.
Without by-elections in place, the ruling party could have an avenue to pass laws uncontested.
One of them is the much-dreaded Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment (PVO) Bill.
During the State of the Nation Address (SONA) ahead of the parliament sitting, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the PVO Bill should be passed during the first session of the 10th parliament.
ALSO READ | Let's not talk about Zimbabwe and democracy right now, says Fikile Mbalula amid ANC 'initiatives'
Many within the CCC dispute that Tshabangu is the secretary-general, so writing letters to the speaker of parliament recalling legislators was wrong.
In his defence he said: "I am a product of the same system that replaced Fadzayi Mahere as party spokesperson during the election period. I am a product of the same system that put in place Nelson Chamisa as our caretaker leader.
"We have a strong case and I am glad, those we recalled have gone to the same courts they allege are captured. We will meet there," he said.
According to the late public policy and law academic, Dr Alex Magaisa, in Zimbabwe, the recall law states that if an MP no longer belongs to the political party of which they were a member when they were elected to Parliament and the relevant political party notifies the speaker or the president of the senate in writing to that effect, the MP's seat will become vacant.
Politically, this clause serves to defend the interests of the party that an MP was elected to represent.
Déjà vu
CCC leader, Chamisa, is walking the same road for the second time.
Douglas Mwonzora pulled a similar stunt after the 2018 general elections when he recalled legislators that he said belonged to the Movement for Democratic Change (MDCT).
It went as far as Mwonzora holding on to the MDCT assets and also benefiting from the Political Parties (Finance) Act.
Chamisa was left with the public's goodwill and a chance to start afresh, which he did, but he now faces similar resistance.
A sitting member of parliament who refused to be named out of fear of victimisation said: "Nothing was learned in 2018. We went down this road until we found ourselves in another election in 2023. We can't do the same thing when we claim to be proofing against bad past experiences," he said.
With the recalls being planned, Chamisa is on a nationwide tour to areas where the party won, conducting "thank you" rallies.
In an interview with News24, he said the latest attacks were engineered by Zanu-PF and its acolytes.
"When a leopard wants to eat its young ones, it accuses them of smelling like goats."
He said:
This is all Zanu-PF at play. They didn't win this election and they are now targeting our legislators. It's not shocking that they started in Bulawayo, where they failed to ban our candidates from standing for elections.
Chamisa said it was a coup on democracy if left to play out that way.
"It's a coup. The courts are Zanu-PF, the speaker of parliament is Zanu-PF, and those being used work for Zanu-PF. It's all clear and crafted against the people," he said.
Led by one Sengezo Tshabangu, who claims to be the party's secretary-general, they have recalled 15 lawmakers from Bulawayo and Matabeleland North who, in turn, have gone to court to challenge their expulsions.
In an interview with News24, Tshabangu said there would be a second, third, or even fourth round of recalls, and that would encompass legislators from other parts of the country.
"We are cleaning up the party. It's back to basics. Those that we recalled know that they didn't win our primary selection process. Instead, they were handpicked by people in Harare (the capital city) to stand for election. That was not the people's will. All of them will be recalled in later rounds," he said.
In a statement, CCC spokesperson Promise Mkhwananzi accused Tshabangu and those working with him behind the scenes of being auxiliaries of Zanu-PF.
He called Tshabangu "a stooge [for] many faces that are yet to come to the open".
"We also warn those among us who are working with Zanu-PF to destroy the people's movement. God will punish you," the statement read.
The regime in Zimbabwe is so disdainful of the will & wishes of the people of Zimbabwe. Barely a month into it's controversial term of illetitimacy, the regime has decided to further aggravate it's illegitimacy by unawlfully recalling @CCCZimbabwe elected officials using a bogus… pic.twitter.com/1AfcGrghM4
— Promise Mkwananzi (@pmkwananzi) October 10, 2023
Tshabangu told News24 that the recalls had nothing to do with Zanu-PF.
"This is purely an internal process, and if we don't deal with it we would set a bad example for Matabeleland and other parts of the country," he said.
Why?
Tshabangu said that for years, it has been taken for granted that Matabeleland and Bulawayo, in particular, present a protest vote for the ruling party, Zanu-PF.
As such, the leadership in opposition circles finds it worthwhile to impose candidates at the expense of locals.
To borrow from the popular saying of the November 2017 coup, he said: "We are dealing with criminal elements around the president (Chamisa)."
The recalls will fall into the lap of Zanu-PF, which fell short of a two-thirds majority at the 23 August elections.
Without by-elections in place, the ruling party could have an avenue to pass laws uncontested.
One of them is the much-dreaded Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment (PVO) Bill.
During the State of the Nation Address (SONA) ahead of the parliament sitting, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the PVO Bill should be passed during the first session of the 10th parliament.
ALSO READ | Let's not talk about Zimbabwe and democracy right now, says Fikile Mbalula amid ANC 'initiatives'
In his defence he said: "I am a product of the same system that replaced Fadzayi Mahere as party spokesperson during the election period. I am a product of the same system that put in place Nelson Chamisa as our caretaker leader.
"We have a strong case and I am glad, those we recalled have gone to the same courts they allege are captured. We will meet there," he said.
According to the late public policy and law academic, Dr Alex Magaisa, in Zimbabwe, the recall law states that if an MP no longer belongs to the political party of which they were a member when they were elected to Parliament and the relevant political party notifies the speaker or the president of the senate in writing to that effect, the MP's seat will become vacant.
Politically, this clause serves to defend the interests of the party that an MP was elected to represent.
Déjà vu
CCC leader, Chamisa, is walking the same road for the second time.
Douglas Mwonzora pulled a similar stunt after the 2018 general elections when he recalled legislators that he said belonged to the Movement for Democratic Change (MDCT).
It went as far as Mwonzora holding on to the MDCT assets and also benefiting from the Political Parties (Finance) Act.
Chamisa was left with the public's goodwill and a chance to start afresh, which he did, but he now faces similar resistance.
A sitting member of parliament who refused to be named out of fear of victimisation said: "Nothing was learned in 2018. We went down this road until we found ourselves in another election in 2023. We can't do the same thing when we claim to be proofing against bad past experiences," he said.
With the recalls being planned, Chamisa is on a nationwide tour to areas where the party won, conducting "thank you" rallies.
In an interview with News24, he said the latest attacks were engineered by Zanu-PF and its acolytes.
"When a leopard wants to eat its young ones, it accuses them of smelling like goats."
He said:
This is all Zanu-PF at play. They didn't win this election and they are now targeting our legislators. It's not shocking that they started in Bulawayo, where they failed to ban our candidates from standing for elections.
Chamisa said it was a coup on democracy if left to play out that way.
"It's a coup. The courts are Zanu-PF, the speaker of parliament is Zanu-PF, and those being used work for Zanu-PF. It's all clear and crafted against the people," he said.
Source - news24
