Tsvangirai gets mega coalition boost
At least 10 political parties under the United Citizens Alliance (UCA) yesterday have thrown their weight behind MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai in a huge boost for the former prime minister who is mobilising an opposition alliance to challenge President Robert Mugabe in next year’s elections.
The parties said they would rally behind the “tested” Tsvangirai because they believed he was the best candidate going into the make or break harmonised polls. The parties include Freedom Front, Zanu Ndonga, National Democratic Party, among others.The meeting where Tsvangirai was endorsed was supported by Concerned Citizens Support Network of Zimbabwe.
UCA chair Jeolson Mugari said the #novotespliting campaign they launched yesterday was meant to ensure the opposition contested the elections as one force.
“We are going to visit all the provinces. Our next stop is Bulawayo and from there we will visit the whole country. This is going to cascade to all the provinces,” he said.
“Our preferred candidate is Dr Morgan Tsvangirai. Suppose we put Mai Mujuru (Joice-National People’s Party leader), she only has two years in opposition.
“We have to go with Dr Tsvangirai because he has managed to stand the test of time against Zanu PF.”
Musician Hosea Chipanga, leader of the Kingdom of God on Earth political party, who also attended the event said he had decided to enter the political ring because his music was always interpreted politically.
“I now want to turn what I had been singing about into practice,” said Chipanga, who said he registered his party with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission last June.
He said the idea of a coalition meant bringing parties with a big and small following together to achieve electoral victory.
National Electoral Reform Agenda youth chairperson Tawanda Kalonga said the opposition could not afford to split votes in next year’s polls. “We can’t afford to split the votes again come 2018 elections. As the Nera youth forum we are saying let’s run behind only one candidate who is Morgan Tsvangirai,” he said.
Tsvangirai has been negotiating with a number of opposition parties to form a coalition to challenge Mugabe (93) who wants another five-year term despite his advanced age.
