US condemns MDC-T poll boycott

Zimbabwean opposition parties must participate in elections than grumble from the sidelines, a senior United States Congressman said this week.

In what seemed to be confirmation of the US's growing displeasure at opposition strongman Morgan Tsvangirai's leadership style, Gregory Simpkins, a director in the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International organisations, said local opposition parties cannot criticize a system that they were not part of.

US top diplomat Simpkins, who is part of a US Congress delegation currently in Zimbabwe as part of Washington's efforts to normalise relations with Harare, said Tsvangirai's party should "find a way of being effective".

"We have heard that political parties here argue that it is tough to compete in elections. But we are saying they have to find a way of being effective rather than just saying it is too tough to compete... How can you criticise a process that you are not part of, one cannot criticise a process that they have not even taken time to test," Simpkins was quoted as saying.

Simpkins said when parties lost in US elections, they did not always take to the streets or go to the courts or become angry. Instead, they would go back and prepare for the next election "and that is what you have to do".

Tsvangirai's MDC-T party has declared it will not take part in any polls without electoral reforms amid reports that the veteran trade unionist had fallen out of favour with most of his party's Western funders.

The MDC-T, however, said the US was entitled to its own opinion.

"The MDC is a home-grown political party that is not run from Washington DC. We are on the ground here in Zimbabwe and whatever decisions and resolutions we take are fully and adequately informed by the prevailing local conditions and scenarios," MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu said.

Gutu said the resolution not to participate in any election without reforms was "carefully thought out, debated and adopted at our national congress last year".