THE MDC Alliance says it will not take a festive break from its rural mobilisation drive, but will instead ramp up the campaigns during that period to target gatherings in the countryside where people are merry-making.
MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has been on a whirlwind
tour in rural areas to drum up support for the opposition party ahead of the
upcoming 2023 elections.
Chamisa’s entourage and his supporters have been attacked
on several occasions during the rural campaigns by suspected Zanu PF
supporters.
The violence claimed the life of MDC Alliance activist
Nyasha Zhambe of Gutu, Masvingo.
Zanu PF recently admitted that Chamisa’s inroads into rural
areas were a cause for concern for the party, which often boasts majority
support in the countryside.
MDC Alliance secretary for rural mobilisation and strategy
Happymore Chidziva told The Standard that they would capitalise on festive
gatherings in the rural areas including encouraging new voters to register to
vote in the upcoming elections.
“There is no festive season for us this time,” Chidziva
said.
“We are not going to take a break; we are going on with our
rural mobilisation exercise. We don’t break because those are the communities
we live in, so we will keep on mobilising.”
The opposition party is targeting six million voters in its
voter mobilisation campaign plan.
Zanu PF party wants to increase the number of its
registered voters to five million and to
ensure a 65% election victory.
Recently, Zanu PF political commissar Mike Bimha told
journalists that the ruling party had so far reached four million people
following the restructuring exercise.
Chidziva said: “We are getting there. We have won the
hearts of many people in the rural communities and that is why we are not
breaking the mobilisation exercise.
“Voter registration is a key part of our electoral campaign
and we target seven million votes for
change.”
The opposition party narrowly lost to Zanu PF in the 2018
elections with Chamisa getting more than two million votes.
Zanu Pf has said it will use the March by-elections to
gauge its popularity after conducting a restructuring exercise. Standard
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