Mutambara faction celebrating the demise of the MDCs

THE Professor Arthur Mutambara MDC faction is having a good time following the crushing defeat of the MDC-T and the Professor Welshman Ncube-led MDC in last week's harmonised elections, saying they saw their demise coming.

In a telephone interview yesterday, MDC-M secretary-general Mr Maxwell Zimuto said his party chose not to participate in last week's elections to avoid embarrassment, which its sister parties are now going through.

"As MDC-M we decided to pull out of the election contest for strategic reasons. We realised that only two parties, Zanu-PF and MDC-T, had realistic chances of winning and we thought it was a good idea to give people, including our supporters the opportunity to choose between the two," said Mr Zimuto.

"It was clear that Zanu-PF would win this election and anyone who doubted that is not being honest to the people of Zimbabwe.

"This is because right from the formation of the Inclusive Government, when other parties were rushing to get into office, Zanu-PF was going out to mobilise people."

Mr Zimuto said Zanu-PF outfoxed its MDC rivals in the last four years in that, while its counterparts in the dysfunctional inclusive Government enjoyed luxury and forgot about the people, the revolutionary party used every opportunity to reinforce itself and oil its machinery for the elections.

He said: "For the past four years Zanu-PF virtually went in every corner of this country and mingled with every congregation. President Mugabe even went to the apostolic sect but some people were laughing, saying he was desperate yet he knew what he was doing.

"They also went to the chiefs and engaged everyone to ensure they win the poll. We are therefore not surprised that Zanu-PF romped to victory. They deserved it. We saw it coming but unfortunately our colleagues could not read between the lines."

Mr Zimuto said the MDCs should preserve their dignity by accepting defeat and warned that continued arguments over the poll outcome would throw the parties into political oblivion.

"I am not in any way dismissing assertions by those who have lost the election but I am simply  saying Zanu-PF worked for what it got. If not careful the MDC-T for instance might split by boycotting Government and that will mark the end of opposition politics," he said.

"If we were MDC-T we would concede defeat and focus on regrouping. Right now MDC-T is soiling itself because it is the only voice in the country, in the Sadc and Africa as a whole that is siding with the West. By so doing they confirm Zanu-PF views that their party belongs to the West and not Africa. In future the whole of Africa would not take them seriously."

Asked to comment on views that his party was seeking homage from Zanu-PF after being elbowed out by the rival Prof Ncube camp, Mr Zimuto said such sentiments were baseless and maintained that his party was alive and geared for future elections.

"We are not in any way associated with Zanu-PF. We are only saying the truth and that does not mean we belong to Zanu-PF. But it is a fact that if you want to defeat Zanu-PF you should not sleep and if you decide to sleep you should at least keep one eye open because Zanu-PF is a formidable institution," he said.

"Yes we will regroup. Our leader Prof Mutambara is in the country. But we have learnt that fighting Zanu-PF is not a joke and next time we will work seriously."

Mr Zimuto predicted a bright future for the country under a Zanu-PF Government saying the party has "fantastic" policies and programmes.

"The foundation put by Zanu-PF on the land issue and now indigenisation and empowerment is good for any African country. Anyone who takes over Government can only improve on these.

"The framework is number one and it only needs perfection. This is one thing that most African states will envy. As long as Zanu-PF works according to these plans and avoids corruption the future is good," said Mr Zimuto.

The outspoken former student activist and robotics professor, Mutambara was invited to lead the then pro-Senate MDC faction after the 2005 split of the united MDC.

He participated in the signing of the 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA) between Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC, which gave birth to the inclusive Government after his party won 10 seats in Parliament. Prof Mutambara severed ties with Prof Ncube, who was elected to succeed him during the party's congress in 2011. He remained a principal in the inclusive Government.