Opinion / Columnist
Confusion reigns in MDC-T
26 Mar 2015 at 13:43hrs | Views
The nation is facing a series of by-elections brought on by expulsions, deaths and promotions. The political protagonists in the country should take this opportunity to prove their worth and popularity as they profess in the media and at rallies.
The MDC-T
The MDC-T is at sixes and sevens over its participation in the by-elections. They resolved at their special congress held in November last year to boycott any election until the so-called "electoral reforms" are in place. However, those at the higher echelons of the misguided party seem to be oblivious of the constituency they must be accountable to.
The MDC-T leadership never consulted its rank and file about their decision to boycott elections. As people who profess to belong to a democratic movement, one would think they should have widely consulted their grassroots before rushing to pass an undemocratic, foolhardy resolution. Basic democratic principles dictate such an engagement.
In the by-elections scheduled for the 27th March 2015 in Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe and Mt Darwin West constituencies, some members of the party had submitted their curriculum vitae to participate. If they had been consulted and advised clearly about the party's position on by-elections, they could have not shown their intention to join the race. The supporters of this party want to participate in the by-elections and the high-handed MDC-T leadership is thwarting the political aspirations of its members.
At times, it is economically wise to boycott an election in which defeat is certain for you. This is the prime consideration made by the MDC-T to boycott the March by-elections as the 2013 electoral defeat by Zanu-PF is still fresh in their minds. Hence, it is not about the so-called electoral reforms.
If the MDC-T was sincere about the electoral reforms, they must just walk out of parliament in toto. This is the only way that can show their sincerity because they are in that house through the electoral process they are condemning today.
The MDC-T knows that the vacant seats are in the stronghold of Zanu-PF, thus, contesting in such an election is a wild goose chase. History tells us that the two constituencies have never fallen into the hands of the opposition. Zanu-PF has been hitherto enjoying landslide victories in the constituencies and there are no foreseeable mitigating factors that can turn the tables against its winning trend.
Having resolved to boycott the March by-elections, one would think the MDC-T is a principled party that sticks to its resolutions. History tells us that the MDC-T, Morgan Tsvangirai in particular, has in the past threatened to boycott national elections only to make an about turn in the eleventh hour.
The party's spokesperson, Obert Gutu has already hinted at this sea change again. "As you know in life nothing is cast in stone. It does not mean if you want to eat vegetables today you will eat vegetables tomorrow," said Gutu.
Gutu could not tell us the exact position of the party on the by-elections in the urban constituencies left vacant by 21 rebel Members of Parliament who crossed the floor to form a coalition with Welshman Ncube. He was not sure what their benefactors in the US would instruct Tsvangirai on these by-elections.
We are told the national executive and the national council of the party would soon meet up and decide on whether to participate or not. The truth is that the meeting will not discuss anything save to be briefed of the instruction from the White house. I bet my bottom dollar, the MDC-T will rescind its decision to boycott the by-elections.
They know that they have a chance of wrestling these seats from the rebels. It would be folly for Tsvangirai to recall the MPs, a move he knows would force by-elections. Where is the wisdom then, in causing a by-election that he will boycott?
If Tsvangirai knew he had some issues with Zanu-PF over a raft of electoral reforms, he could have not caused by-elections in his stronghold.
This is the level of idiocy of a man who is surrounded by learned but unwise lieutenants. Tsvangirai has dented the chances of reforming the electoral laws in parliament by decimating the number of opposition MPs in the august house.
Tsvangirai has no problem in donating seats to Zanu-PF as long as he leaves his sworn enemy, Tendai Biti naked. He thought he was spiting Tendai Biti not knowing he was giving Zanu-PF a numerical advantage in parliament.
Tsvangirai is like a proverbial fool who was asked by God to name whatever he wanted God to do for him on condition that his neighbour would get double that request. He thought of a car, house and money but he told himself that he could not stand to see his neighbour getting double his request. Thus, the man asked God to remove one of his ear and eye.
MDC Renewal
Biti and his colleagues do not have much of a difficult task to fulfil. The breakaway party has many lawyers who must assist in interpreting the constitution. Their recall is incontestable and they must not waste resources in taking the issue to the courts. The law is clear.
They must instead use the resources to campaign for the forthcoming by-elections so that they retain their seats. They must prove to the world that they did not get into parliament riding on the back of Tsvangirai and the MDC-T's popularity.
The by-elections are an acid test for the party that claims to be more popular than Tsvangirai. The world awaits to see the real opposition party in Zimbabwe. Thus, the MDC Renewal and its partners must show us their real orange colour.
Hopefully, this new kid on the block has not imported the boycott culture from Tsvangirai. The West is sitting on the fence with their funding. The by-elections will guide and point to them the right horse to bet on.
During the 2005 MDC split, Tsvangirai declared that "I am the MDC." Of course he lived to that declaration as he went on to overshadow Welshman Ncube's breakaway party . The by-elections must provide the Renewal team with the opportunity to challenge Tsvangirai's declaration.
Zanu-PF
The by-elections in the offing in urban areas, which the MDC intends to boycott, must be treated as a gift from Tsvangirai. This is the time for the revolutionary party to make some inroads into the MDC's political territory. After all, the Renewal rebels won the seats by the skin of the teeth and that margin can be easily closed considering the dent on the support base caused by the split.
However, Zanu-PF should not be self-satisfied, as the MDC-T is a known master of vacillating. They are likely to overturn their resolution, as Tsvangirai wants to bring back into parliament his blue-eyed boys in the standing committee who lost in the 2013 elections.
The likes of Lovemore Moyo, Douglas Mwonzora and Obert Gutu, among other 2013 casualties, are already relishing the opportunity to participate in the by-election, as they want to get space in parliament again. They will definitely lobby for the rescission of the foolhardy resolution.
Zanu-PF must also realise that, of late, Tsvangirai has been holding rallies across the country. We all know that the MDC-T purse was absolutely dry, worse still that of Tsvangirai who could no longer afford to fuel his car. The recent rallies and the US trip point to a windfall that the party received.
There must be some gullible benefactors who extended their hands to him in the hope that he could be resurrected. As Joram Nyathi aptly said last week, Zanu-PF must be wary of MDC-T's second coming.
Even in the 27 March by-elections in which the race is officially between Zanu-PF and candidates from little known parties, there is a heavy presence of the MDC-T hand. Those candidates belong to MDC-T and the number of votes they will garner will testify to this.
The MDC-T is hiding behind those pseudo political parties to evade embarrassment in the face of defeat. Therefore, Zanu-PF must enter into the election with full knowledge that MDC-T is in the race by default.
The recent utterances by the MDC-T that they would rally behind Temba Mliswa in the Hurungwe West by-elections are so telling and give up the political game plan that Gutu hinted to. For that reason, the MDC-T will be in the game through fronts such as Mliswa and others.
Some people speculate that the recent cleansing of the ruling party would dent its support base. These by-elections would prove to the contrary. They will confirm that Zanu-PF is still Zimbabwe's number one choice.
It is therefore, prudent for Zanu-PF to shift focus, for one moment, from its internal squabbles to these crucial by-elections. They need to prove that despite these in-house tiffs, it is still the strongest party in the country capable of winning an election at any given moment.
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Tafara Shumba can contacted at tafieshumbaz@gmail.com
The MDC-T
The MDC-T is at sixes and sevens over its participation in the by-elections. They resolved at their special congress held in November last year to boycott any election until the so-called "electoral reforms" are in place. However, those at the higher echelons of the misguided party seem to be oblivious of the constituency they must be accountable to.
The MDC-T leadership never consulted its rank and file about their decision to boycott elections. As people who profess to belong to a democratic movement, one would think they should have widely consulted their grassroots before rushing to pass an undemocratic, foolhardy resolution. Basic democratic principles dictate such an engagement.
In the by-elections scheduled for the 27th March 2015 in Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe and Mt Darwin West constituencies, some members of the party had submitted their curriculum vitae to participate. If they had been consulted and advised clearly about the party's position on by-elections, they could have not shown their intention to join the race. The supporters of this party want to participate in the by-elections and the high-handed MDC-T leadership is thwarting the political aspirations of its members.
At times, it is economically wise to boycott an election in which defeat is certain for you. This is the prime consideration made by the MDC-T to boycott the March by-elections as the 2013 electoral defeat by Zanu-PF is still fresh in their minds. Hence, it is not about the so-called electoral reforms.
If the MDC-T was sincere about the electoral reforms, they must just walk out of parliament in toto. This is the only way that can show their sincerity because they are in that house through the electoral process they are condemning today.
The MDC-T knows that the vacant seats are in the stronghold of Zanu-PF, thus, contesting in such an election is a wild goose chase. History tells us that the two constituencies have never fallen into the hands of the opposition. Zanu-PF has been hitherto enjoying landslide victories in the constituencies and there are no foreseeable mitigating factors that can turn the tables against its winning trend.
Having resolved to boycott the March by-elections, one would think the MDC-T is a principled party that sticks to its resolutions. History tells us that the MDC-T, Morgan Tsvangirai in particular, has in the past threatened to boycott national elections only to make an about turn in the eleventh hour.
The party's spokesperson, Obert Gutu has already hinted at this sea change again. "As you know in life nothing is cast in stone. It does not mean if you want to eat vegetables today you will eat vegetables tomorrow," said Gutu.
Gutu could not tell us the exact position of the party on the by-elections in the urban constituencies left vacant by 21 rebel Members of Parliament who crossed the floor to form a coalition with Welshman Ncube. He was not sure what their benefactors in the US would instruct Tsvangirai on these by-elections.
We are told the national executive and the national council of the party would soon meet up and decide on whether to participate or not. The truth is that the meeting will not discuss anything save to be briefed of the instruction from the White house. I bet my bottom dollar, the MDC-T will rescind its decision to boycott the by-elections.
They know that they have a chance of wrestling these seats from the rebels. It would be folly for Tsvangirai to recall the MPs, a move he knows would force by-elections. Where is the wisdom then, in causing a by-election that he will boycott?
If Tsvangirai knew he had some issues with Zanu-PF over a raft of electoral reforms, he could have not caused by-elections in his stronghold.
This is the level of idiocy of a man who is surrounded by learned but unwise lieutenants. Tsvangirai has dented the chances of reforming the electoral laws in parliament by decimating the number of opposition MPs in the august house.
Tsvangirai has no problem in donating seats to Zanu-PF as long as he leaves his sworn enemy, Tendai Biti naked. He thought he was spiting Tendai Biti not knowing he was giving Zanu-PF a numerical advantage in parliament.
Tsvangirai is like a proverbial fool who was asked by God to name whatever he wanted God to do for him on condition that his neighbour would get double that request. He thought of a car, house and money but he told himself that he could not stand to see his neighbour getting double his request. Thus, the man asked God to remove one of his ear and eye.
Biti and his colleagues do not have much of a difficult task to fulfil. The breakaway party has many lawyers who must assist in interpreting the constitution. Their recall is incontestable and they must not waste resources in taking the issue to the courts. The law is clear.
They must instead use the resources to campaign for the forthcoming by-elections so that they retain their seats. They must prove to the world that they did not get into parliament riding on the back of Tsvangirai and the MDC-T's popularity.
The by-elections are an acid test for the party that claims to be more popular than Tsvangirai. The world awaits to see the real opposition party in Zimbabwe. Thus, the MDC Renewal and its partners must show us their real orange colour.
Hopefully, this new kid on the block has not imported the boycott culture from Tsvangirai. The West is sitting on the fence with their funding. The by-elections will guide and point to them the right horse to bet on.
During the 2005 MDC split, Tsvangirai declared that "I am the MDC." Of course he lived to that declaration as he went on to overshadow Welshman Ncube's breakaway party . The by-elections must provide the Renewal team with the opportunity to challenge Tsvangirai's declaration.
Zanu-PF
The by-elections in the offing in urban areas, which the MDC intends to boycott, must be treated as a gift from Tsvangirai. This is the time for the revolutionary party to make some inroads into the MDC's political territory. After all, the Renewal rebels won the seats by the skin of the teeth and that margin can be easily closed considering the dent on the support base caused by the split.
However, Zanu-PF should not be self-satisfied, as the MDC-T is a known master of vacillating. They are likely to overturn their resolution, as Tsvangirai wants to bring back into parliament his blue-eyed boys in the standing committee who lost in the 2013 elections.
The likes of Lovemore Moyo, Douglas Mwonzora and Obert Gutu, among other 2013 casualties, are already relishing the opportunity to participate in the by-election, as they want to get space in parliament again. They will definitely lobby for the rescission of the foolhardy resolution.
Zanu-PF must also realise that, of late, Tsvangirai has been holding rallies across the country. We all know that the MDC-T purse was absolutely dry, worse still that of Tsvangirai who could no longer afford to fuel his car. The recent rallies and the US trip point to a windfall that the party received.
There must be some gullible benefactors who extended their hands to him in the hope that he could be resurrected. As Joram Nyathi aptly said last week, Zanu-PF must be wary of MDC-T's second coming.
Even in the 27 March by-elections in which the race is officially between Zanu-PF and candidates from little known parties, there is a heavy presence of the MDC-T hand. Those candidates belong to MDC-T and the number of votes they will garner will testify to this.
The MDC-T is hiding behind those pseudo political parties to evade embarrassment in the face of defeat. Therefore, Zanu-PF must enter into the election with full knowledge that MDC-T is in the race by default.
The recent utterances by the MDC-T that they would rally behind Temba Mliswa in the Hurungwe West by-elections are so telling and give up the political game plan that Gutu hinted to. For that reason, the MDC-T will be in the game through fronts such as Mliswa and others.
Some people speculate that the recent cleansing of the ruling party would dent its support base. These by-elections would prove to the contrary. They will confirm that Zanu-PF is still Zimbabwe's number one choice.
It is therefore, prudent for Zanu-PF to shift focus, for one moment, from its internal squabbles to these crucial by-elections. They need to prove that despite these in-house tiffs, it is still the strongest party in the country capable of winning an election at any given moment.
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Tafara Shumba can contacted at tafieshumbaz@gmail.com
Source - Tafara Shumba
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