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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
Squabbles by political parties regarding the so-called coalition ahead of the 2018 harmonised elections is an indication that the intended pact is premised on personal ambitions for power, without any ideological grounding and desire to serve ordinary people, political analysts have said.
Opposition parties have been hyping the idea of coalition as the best way to win next year’s elections, but according to some observers, the increasing public disagreements among the parties on who will lead the coalition have exposed their selfish desire for power.
The Joice Mujuru-led National People’s Party has made public of its preference for the former Vice President to lead the coalition, arguing that MDC-T’s Morgan Tsvangirai had failed to beat President Mugabe in previous elections.
NPP argues that its leader’s liberation war credentials and experience in Government made her the best candidate. MDC-T vice president Nelson Chamisa was on Tuesday quoted by a private daily saying Mr Tsvangirai should be the leader of the coalition since he had a large support base in the opposition.
Political analyst Goodwine Mureriwa yesterday said opposition political parties had no common ideology and were just driven by the lust for power.
“They don’t have a common ideology and neither do they have a mandate from the people,” he said. “What we are seeing are people who are power hungry, that is why there is this jostling for positions.
“It is not about what the people want, but personal ambitions and this basically removes the little chance they had of winning next year’s elections.
“As President Mugabe has said, a coalition of zeros will be a big a zero and this is what we are now seeing with the squabbles among the opposition.”
Tanzania-based analyst Tafadzwa Mugwadi said the opposition coalition had no buy-in from ordinary people and was bound to fail.
“The bickering between the parties recently, especially the MDC-T and NPP despite signing and celebrating a MoU a few months ago signals a coalition that has suffered a still-birth,” he said.
“There are very slim chances of an opposition coalition ahead of the 2018 elections because foundationally, structurally and ethically, these parties are further apart from each other as the East is to the West.”
Another political analyst and blogger, Blessing Vava, said the coalition was unachievable as it had no grassroots input. “It’s difficult to be achieved,” he said. “It’s little too late for the opposition parties, they are spending much time in boardrooms to agree on a format to come up with that coalition instead of laying groundwork and mobilising the masses.
“It’s doomed to fail because of egos and the insatiable appetite to lead amongst the coalition leaders”.
Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn president Dr Simba Makoni acknowledged the divisions among opposition parties during a political dialogue series organised by Sapes Trust and Crisis Coalition Zimbabwe last week.
Online Reporter