Former president Robert Mugabe is ready to endorse MDC
Alliance presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa ahead of the July 30 elections
as prospects of him reconciling with his successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa
continue to diminish, it has been revealed.
According to multiple sources, Mugabe recently sent
emissaries to Chamisa seeking dialogue ahead of the polls and indicated that he
was willing to back the leading opposition candidate because he was not happy
with the treatment he was receiving from Mnangagwa’s government.
Mugabe revealed in March that he would back the National
Patriotic Front (NPF), a party formed by former Zanu PF members who were not
happy with the coup that toppled the 94-year-old ruler in November last year.
The NPF has been negotiating a coalition with the MDC
Alliance, but the talks suffered a severe blow last week after the Chamisa- led
group allegedly reneged on its promise to give the Mugabe-linked party a
significant number of constituencies.
“Mugabe sent two prominent clerics with a message that he
was willing to assist Chamisa gain an electoral advantage over Mnangagwa in the
forthcoming elections. He says he is prepared to endorse Chamisa,” said a
source. “He is mainly concerned about the future of his family and says he
believes Chamisa has the potential to become the next president.”
Chamisa’s spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda yesterday said he
was not aware of Mugabe’s alleged overtures.
“If there are any such moves, I am sure (Chamisa) has not
dealt with the matter,” he said. “He will consider the invitation to meet the
former president on merit. He will not respond to the media before responding
to the person who invited him.”
Mugabe’s alleged manoeuvres are said to have unsettled Zanu
PF, which is said to have reached out to former South African president Jacob
Zuma, who reportedly contacted Chamisa last week.
Zuma allegedly revealed that vice-president Constantino
Chiwenga had indicated that Zanu PF was not happy about Mugabe and his wife
Grace’s alleged support for the opposition.
Zuma’s alleged intervention is said to have led to the
collapse of the coalition talks between the MDC Alliance and NPF, which
happened on the eve of the sitting of the nomination court.
The call is alleged to have triggered the last-minute
collapse of alliance negotiations between Mugabe’s outfit and the MDC Alliance.
One of the MDC Alliance principals, Welshman Ncube,
yesterday said allegations that Zuma contacted the Alliance leaders were false.
He said he was also not aware of reports that Mugabe had sent emissaries to
Chamisa concerning the elections.
“It is completely false that President Zuma called,” he
said. “I have no knowledge of Mugabe seeking a meeting.
“I was not involved in the talks nor was I briefed on the
collapse (of the talks) between the NPF and MDC Alliance.”
Information minister Simon Khaya Moyo said he was not aware
of any contact between Chiwenga and Zuma, but said the statements being
attributed to the VP could not be true because he was “a man of integrity”.
Sibanda said he was not authorised to comment about any
contact between Chamisa and Zuma if it happened.
“The president has not cleared anyone to discuss that.
Those were high-level talks and they affect international relations and,
therefore, only the president can comment on that,” he said.
Sibanda said there was never any talks between the MDC Alliance
and the Mugabe-backed party.
“There were never talks with the NPF, contrary to
suggestions by the NPF that there were some negotiations that collapsed. As far
as the MDC Alliance is concerned, there were no negotiations at all,” he said.
“President Chamisa said such a coalition would not be in
the best interest of the country. Major coalition partners never got to an
agreement about an alliance with the NPF.”
However, NPF spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire insisted that
there were negotiations between the two groups.
“Sibanda has been recently appointed Chamisa’s
spokesperson, not the MDC’s spokesperson. He might not be aware that there have
been some bilateral talks between the two parties,” he said.
“Those talks, as far as I know, centred on a pre and
post-election pact and teams from both parties met in South Africa and in
Zimbabwe. As we speak, there are still some ongoing consultations.”
Mnangagwa faces a stiff challenge from Chamisa in a poll
that will be contested by a record 23 candidates. Standard
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