A winning formula for the opposition in Zimbabwe

Of late the media has been abuzz with reports that the opposition parties in Zimbabwe are frantically trying to find each other in an effort to enhance their capacity to defeat Zanu PF in the 2018 'watershed' elections. Just this past weekend, leaders of PDP, MDC T, ZAPU, MDC, NPP and others shared a platform where they addressed a NERA rally. With the projections by Afro barometer indicating a possible Zanu PF land slide victory next year, the need to coalesce as opposition parties is no longer just a question of a coalition being ‘necessary' but as rather being critically mandatory. This article will attempt to demonstrate the value of an election fought under a coalition especially that which includes the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in a quest to break Zanu PF's power hegemony.

Let me start by cautioning readers that whilst a strong opposition is necessary in the electoral defeat of Zanu PF, it is however, not the only ingredient. A whole host of other conditions that promote free and fair elections, power transfer as well as peace and national stability in the post election period are critically desirable. Put illustratively, it is not enough to provide a virile bull that can sire the desired calves; you also need to have a healthy breed of cows that can withstand its weight and survive the deliver/birth-giving stage. More significantly, the bull itself should be of the right pedigree. For 37 years, Zimbabweans have had to endure painful miscarriages under the weight of sterile political entities whose only value to the nation has been their corrupt shenanigans.

Whilst some opposition parties arguably have a sizeable following and some semblance of brave leadership, they, however, have no capacity to give birth to a new Zimbabwe. They are like a beautiful woman without a womb; everyman desires her but she cannot be a mother no matter how frequent the effort to achieve this is made. Other opposition parties do have some semblance of principled leadership with a little intellectual depth but these qualities alone have failed to grow the parties in question since their inception. We also have parties that combine both liberation credentials and government experience at their disposal; however, these too cannot win us any election although we still need their attributes. We need a formula which, whilst accumulating the aggregate attributes from all coalition partners, will also be solid on clarity of vision and policy direction. That is found in abundance in the PDP.

PDP is the embodiment of a visionary leadership which is deeply steeped in practical solutions for Zimbabwe's multifaceted crises more than any other political outfit in Zimbabwe. The party has talent diversity. The party has solid cadreship which is a product of a people's struggle for democratisation. However, on its own, PDP cannot remove Zanu PF from power but the party's policy documents reveal how apt the party managed to diagnose Zimbabwe's ailments. It has a winning formula for effective governance, constitutionalism and the Rule of Law. It also has a practical formula for transitional justice, national healing and reconciliation. Above all it has intelligent formulae for macroeconomic stability, job creation, industrialisation, the social delivery system, infrastructural development, mineral beneficiation, rural and urban development as well as land and food security.

The PDP acknowledges the fact that for any serious coalition to make an impact in Zimbabwe's elections there is an urgent need to free ZEC from underits Zanu PF incubation. Those Zanu PF party functionaries masquerading as commissioners and administrators must be removed. The coalition needs to cause the compilation of a new voters' roll that is free from manipulation by the Zanu PF rigging machinery. It needs to bust the Zanu PF militia that has always been used to intimidate voters into voting for Zanu PF. It needs to free the traditional leadership in the rural areas from serving Zanu PF interests when they shepherd their helpless subjects into a Zanu PF paddock.

In the absence of a coalition pact, the opposition will most certainly not wrestle power from Zanu PF, no matter how wild their imagination might be. However, should it happen that parties do go it alone; the PDP will maul the Zimbabwe electoral landscape! It may not form the next government but will certainly chew a big chunk out of Zimbabwe's electoral cake! As quiet as the footsteps of a giant, the party has been making serious inroads. No other party in Zimbabwe has a thriving membership presence and vibrant structures nationwide as does PDP.