Chamisa claims that 2023 elections 'did not happen'

Former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa remains focused on the disputed 2023 general elections in Zimbabwe, insisting that the issues surrounding those polls must be resolved before any discussions about the 2028 elections can take place.

In a recent interview with NewsDay senior reporter Miriam Mangwaya, Chamisa firmly declared the 2023 elections "null" and invalid. He stated, "2028 is not in the picture at all because talking about 2028 presupposes that we had 2023. But 2023 was a nullity, a void, and therefore does not exist. There was nothing, and nothing stands on nothing."

Chamisa emphasized the need to continue the fight for electoral reforms to end the cycle of disputed elections in Zimbabwe. He drew an analogy, saying, "If you eat a meal and have stomach pains and diarrhea, do you say eating is bad? No! Eating an improper meal is bad. But don't condemn eating because of one bad meal."

Chamisa also criticized the ongoing arrests of opposition activists and pro-democracy campaigners, describing Zimbabwe as "a jungle" where citizens face daily struggles. He remarked, "The crackdown, the arrests, the persecution remind us that those in office have overstayed their welcome and that they are the wrong ones."

Chamisa, who is currently not affiliated with any political party for the first time since the founding of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in 1999, resigned from the CCC in January. He cited his departure as a response to the party being "contaminated" and "hijacked" by the ruling ZANU PF party. Chamisa accused the government of undermining the CCC by using state institutions and bribing party members to sabotage the opposition from within.