CHANTEL TAKUDZWA ZAMBUKIRA
POLITICS REPORTER
Political analysts have hinted that Zimbabwean opposition parties will never come together as a unity to dislodge ZANU-PF from power.
This was said by political analyst Dr. Arthur Fidelis Chikerema and the notion was supported by disposed Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Felix Ndiweni.
“We do not have a strong opposition party as a country. There is always confusion amongst the opposition. There are cracks within the opposition, and animosity, amongst political parties, therefore, talking about them coming together to change the ZANU-PF hegemony at the moment is difficult, too late, or sometimes even widens cracks within the individual opposition parties because they are eyeing, a constituency or a ward,” said Dr. Chikerema.
He went on to state that opposition parties are the ones that are embracing factionalism which will make it difficult for the opposition to come up with a strong coalition government.
“If you look at the relationships, we do not have an opposition party that can come together to come up with a coalition government to try by all means to dislodge ZANU-PF.” Chikerema continued.
Chief Ndiweni also agrees with the disintegration of opposition parties.
“The only way that opposition may think it does not need to work with other opposition parties is that if it’s only looking to gain support from a particular landscape, for example, Matebeleland North only, and it’s only focusing on the idea becoming a regional political party because it is not looking at the National landscape but on Regional or Provincial landscape.
However, when asked if the opposition parties are united or not, the disintegrating opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T), now under embattled leader Douglas Mwonzora, positions itself on the right side as they claim that they have tried to unite with other opposition parties but to no avail.
“It is public knowledge that the MDC has been at the forefront of calling for all-inclusive dialogue and you know the results. We ended up being labeled ZANU-PF by the very people whom you are suggesting we unite with. This is a testament to the toxicity of Zimbabwean politics,” said the Information and Publicity officer for the MDC-T, Chengetai Guta.
Political analyst Methuseli Moyo revealed that it is not unity that can guarantee a win for the opposition but the command support.
“So long as they do not command meaningful support, their unity may not result in success,” said Moyo.
His point was backed by another Political Commentator Effie Ncube who believes that some things need to be in place to produce better results.
“It’s not given. Unity on its own does not deliver victory. There are additional variables that must be in place to produce the outcome. Chief among these is the wider context in which those political parties are operating in. That said though, a united opposition is more likely to deliver victory than a fractured opposition. There is weakness in division and strength in unity,” said Effie Ncube.
The Republic Party of Zimbabwe (RPZ) leader also had his own story about the issue.
“As a Party, we can only share notes with those political parties whose ideology and vision are in line with us. That of true servant leadership, excellence in service delivery, strict adherence to Constitutionalism, and the values of Ubuntu/Hunhu. As well as those parties who cherish the rich history and heritage of our nation with diverse cultures including acknowledging the selfless sacrifices of our lofty sons and daughters who ushered us into Independence. We also oppose all forms of discrimination and continue to preach the message of peace love unity and tolerance. We are Zimbabweans first before our political affiliations,” said Kwanele Hlabangani.
After the formation of (POLAD), Political Actors Dialogue, the main opposition party, the Nelson Chamisa-led Citizen Coalition for Change, together with other political parties believed it was pro-ZANU-PF hence they did not join.
This pointed to the disjointedness amongst opposition parties in the country.
Those that joined POLAD have not contributed anything meaningful to the. political landscape of the country save for receiving freebies from the government such as 4×4 vehicles and staying in luxurious hotels during their semantic meetings that have never produced anything worth writing home about.