PDP's position of grand coalition

Friday, December 02, 2016

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) strongly believes the only way that the people of Zimbabwe can give themselves a decent chance for defeating Zanu PF is by forming a grand coalition.

To any right minded Zimbabwean, the task of dismantling the Zanu PF regime will be as tough as it has been in the last 17 years.

Democrats face a tough opponent in the form of a predatory state that has been captured by a narrow military elite that has a civilian semblance through Zanu PF, through Robert Mugabe.

It is this elite through the Joint Operation Command (JOC) that has literally been running this country since Day One.

At the end of the day, the fight against Zanu PF is a fight against an authoritarian state that is fueled heavily by its illegal and criminal dealings sponsored through the theft of minerals in particular diamonds, platinum, gold, other shady mining deals and of course an ill disciplined central bank that has been conducting quasi-fiscal activities including the continued payment of Nikuv.

Our elections have been a sham process whose outcome has been determined by a powerful selectorate housed at King George VI army barracks and not the electorate.

Thus literally since independence, every one of the 12 elections has been the hallmark of undiluted electoral authoritarianism with the presidential elections of 2002, 2008 and 2013 being the worst examples.

In these particular elections, the military essentially staged a coup-d'état against the democratic will of the people of Zimbabwe.

With 2018 looming, it is clear that Zanu PF will not attend to any meaningful reforms before that election.

As we have constantly argued before, Zanu PF will never reform itself out of power.  Besides they can be no reform without reformers.

The truth of the matter is that without comprehensive reforms, the people of Zimbabwe have no chance of dismantling the fascist regime headquartered at KGVI and No.1 Chancellor Avenue.
 
This is precisely why we are making the call for the establishment of the National Transitional Authority (NTA) as a means of bridging the necessary reforms before an election.  Without reforms, the election results will be obvious.

It is also obvious to us that that they are some of colleagues who believe that the only necessary reforms are electoral reforms.

This is the position taken by our compatriots in NERA.
Our point of departure is that electoral reforms alone are not sufficient.

The fact, however, remains that to effectively demand for reforms, we must form a strong lobby group.

The convergence of Zimbabweans is a necessary but sufficient condition.

It is our respectful position that no single party in Zimbabwe can ever dislodge Zanu PF even with the best of reforms.

It is further contention that opposition political parties must work in the best interests of Zimbabwe and form a national platform.

We take a heavy lesson from the Rainbow Coalition in Kenya formed in 2005 and was able to defeat the Daniel Arap Moi's regime that had been in power for nearly 40 years.

We also take pleasure in this week's lesson of the Gambia where again a fractured opposition was able to defeat the dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh.

To move forward, it is therefore essential to create a credible counter force of genuine like-minded and value based political parties. The biggest lesson over the past 2 decades is that no single individual or group on its own can effect political change against the Zanu PF dictatorship.
 
Therefore, no one political actor should delude themselves into thinking that without their participation, a coalition is not possible.  

More importantly, all political actors must take seriously the lessons of previous elections which are that; no party alone can ever stage a successful electoral upset against Zanu PF.

Thus the PDP believes that only a united opposition, an alliance of democratic forces against the dictatorship will remove the dictator.
 
In this regard, grand coalitions cannot be built on the basis of big brother mentalities, but Zimbabwe's political coalitions must consist of all democratic political parties, student groups, the church, the workers, farmers and ordinary citizens.
 
Effectively, the only equation that will work to dislodge the present order is that for the old order and younger generation meet to create a future Zimbabwe based on values and principles set out in our constitution.
 
To achieve this it requires committed and selfless cadres who will put Zimbabwe first and not their egos or tattered histories.
 
It is however sad that some of the key political players in the coalition talks have resorted to issuing derogatory statements rubbishing the coalition processes much to the benefit of Zanu PF.

We are also aware that some of these politicians are in serious negotiations with the Lacoste faction of Zanu PF to form a government of national unity before 2018 as an attempt to derail and delay the 2018 elections.

The same opposition politicians scuttling the coalition process are having their rentals, medical bills and daily upkeep being paid by the Zanu PF government and they will as a result do all in their power to derail the grand coalition process in order to please their Zanu PF masters.

#TogetherAnotherZimbabweIsPossible