What does the MDC stand for under Chamisa?

Since late last year and the beginning of this year, both of Zimbabwe's main parties have new leaders. While President Emmerson Mnangagwa has stamped his vision on the ZanuPF and in essence the country, MDC Chairman Nelson Chamisa has no similar coherent message for his supporters.

It is undoubted that Chamisa has charisma and youth, but to be president of a country with such challenges as ours, we need leadership a strong vision; economic, diplomatic and holistic.

So far, Chamisa has either got himself in hot water over lies involving the presidents of the US and Rwanda, shown himself to be worryingly chauvinistic towards women and made outlandish promises.

Chamisa has made such promises as "goats will have internet", the World Cup will come to Zimbabwe and that he will build a high-speed train twice the speed of any that exists on the planet. The only argument that keeps repeating itself for why Chamisa should move to State House is that he is younger than his opponent.

It is hard to decipher a plan, something that will make Zimbabwean swing-voters, undecideds or even disgruntled MDC voters that Chamisa should be the one to lead the country forward.
The protest in Harare is just a mere distraction. In a real campaign, threats are replaced with vision, and demonstrations are replaced with rallies.

There is a saying that "Empty vessels make the most sound."

This means that frequently those who have little to say make the most noise to distract from their lack of ideas. The fact that the MDC leaders are calling for an external audit of the biometric voter registration (BVR) voters' roll, when it is possible to access it online, and thousands already have.

Of course, they have not brought any proof to demonstrate that there is anything substantively wrong with the BVR. Some have found a few errors, and hopefully those will be fixed, but there is nowhere in the world where such a large number of people are listed without any errors.

Even as we witnessed Chamisa's supporters in the streets of Harare, it becomes glaringly obvious that most have no cause other than to chant about their leader. They appear to have no common agenda or cause other than a seemingly acquiescent obedience to their leader's demands to take to the streets.

In a healthy democracy, there is a battle of ideas, a competing of visions. Mnangagwa has released a manifesto, he has told the people what to expect from his presidency and his slogans like "Zimbabwe is open for business" are not empty, but are followed with an action plan that appears to be successful about attracting necessary foreign investment.
Chamisa's slogans are all about himself or his opponent, not about Zimbabwe.

Therein lays the sad difference between our candidates. This does not serve our country well because after more than three decades of dictatorship we have finally been given the right for our voices to be heard.

However, to be able to vote we need to be able to make an informed choice. As an "undecided", I want to hear what both have to say and use that to make my choice in the polling station.

I desperately want to know what a Chamisa-led MDC stands for. I wish he or his fellow leaders in his party would present an articulate and comprehensible plan of action to make our country better. I need to hear both sides and I am sorely lacking in information about why I should consider voting the MDC.

Without this, I am sadly only left with one choice.