PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared a Zanu PF victory two years ahead of the general elections, telling party supporters at the just-ended annual conference in Bindura that his party will elbow out the opposition from all urban councils.
The opposition MDC Alliance has won in most towns and
cities in recent previous elections, with Zanu PF’s stay in power predicated on
its rural strongholds.
However, Mnangagwa told the party faithful that he had
already sealed the 2023 victory.
“The mantra musangano kumacell (the party is stronger in
cells) will undoubtedly see us predetermine and realise our resounding 2023
harmonised general election victory. The organisational reach of our party must
continue to widen, capturing the greater part of our nation. We are, indeed,
winning our election before election date,” Mnangagwa said.
He then blasted urban councils led by the opposition,
describing them as corrupt and incompetent.
“Residents in urban areas have been abused by corrupt and
incompetent opposition elements, and it is time for them to go,” he said.
But MDC Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere dismissed
Mnangagwa’s 2023 electoral victory claims, saying tables will turn in favour of
opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa.
“The opposition party is going to win the 2023 elections,
and it is going to do so resoundingly. We are currently carrying out an
intensive voter registration campaign in villages, towns and cities to ensure
we galvanise six million citizens to vote for change,” she said.
“We are mobilising the citizens to turn out to vote in
their millions and defend that vote vigilantly.
“We are building a polling agent defence system to ensure
the vote is protected from rigging through a polling station-based mobilisation
and monitoring programme.”
Mahere said the opposition was not sitting on its laurels
and would run the biggest electoral campaign that the country has never
witnessed.
“We will run the biggest electoral campaign that’s never
been seen in the region and ultimately win Zimbabwe for change. This is why our
new candidate selection procedures will give communities the power to decide
which leaders will represent them,” she said.
The Zanu PF camp feels that it is gaining traction on the
diplomatic front after Mnangagwa was invited to COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, in
the United Kingdom (UK).
Mnangagwa, who flew out to Scotland yesterday, told
delegates at his party conference that he would likely meet British Prime
Minister Boris Johnson, in what he described as a diplomatic victory for his
government.
“I travel to Glasgow in the United Kingdom after over two
decades have passed without Zimbabwean leadership going to the UK. I have been
invited by Boris Johnson and he has indicated he might meet me in Glasgow
one-on-one as well as other leaders like Prime Minister of India (Narendra
Modi), and we will be meeting others on Monday or Tuesday,” he said.
Mnangagwa claimed Zanu PF had been vindicated by the report
released on Thursday by the United Nations special rapporteur Alena Douhan, who
said targeted sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union
were affecting Zimbabwe.
“We should congratulate ourselves that we have never been
wrong and we shall continue always being right,” he said.
“And those who have been found outside the law should
reckon and take their position.” Newsday
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