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yesterday supported the candidature of President Mugabe in the forthcoming elections.
They also tipped Zanu-PF to win the elections.
Representatives of the liberation movements told the delegates to the conference that they had an obligation to assist each other with strategies that ensured victory during general elections. South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), Mozambique’s Frelimo, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Angola’s MPLA, Tanzania’s Chama Cha Mapinduzi, Zambia’s Patriotic Front and Swapo’s Namibia are among the liberation parties with representatives at the conference.
In his solidarity message yesterday, ANC secretary-general Cde Gwede Mantashe, said his party was willing to share strategies with Zanu-PF to ensure the party romped to victory in the forthcoming general elections.
“It is critical for the liberation movements to continue sharing experiences and exchange ideas from time to time so that we win elections. If we want to share experiences on campaigning and messaging during elections, we must do so well ahead of the elections so that the parties involved can have time to adjust the experiences to their own strategies,” he said.
Cde Mantashe, who delivered the message on behalf of President Jacob Zuma, said it was time for movements in the region to carry out regular dialogue to craft measures that attract the electorate.
“All other liberation movements are from the elections. It is now opportune for the cadres of Zanu-PF to engage activists from sister liberation movements,” he said.
Cde Mantashe said the ANC, which holds its centenary celebrations next year, owed its success as a ruling party to the support that it received from the region.
“In dialectal terms, we have constructed and reconstructed each other, we have shaped and reshaped each other,” he said.
“We should be engaging each other on how best we can contribute to the reconstruction of countries such as Libya and Tunisia.”
Botswana Democratic Party secretary general Mr Thabo Fanu Masalila praised the leadership of President Mugabe saying Zanu-PF members should give full support to him as the party’s President and First Secretary.
“You should consider yourselves blessed to have leadership that has such wisdom,” he said.
“You can not say you love Zanu-PF and not vote for it. You can not love Zanu-PF if you fragment it. You can not love Zanu-PF if you can not support its leadership.”
Mr Masalila lauded the theme of the conference that is premised on the country’s indigenisation and empowerment programme, saying Zimbabwe had set an agenda that should be emulated by other countries on the continent.
“We note with delight the theme of the conference: ‘Defend National Sovereignty, Consolidate Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment’ given the tough times that we are living in,” he said.
“It is important to reflect on how indigenisation can help to propel us forward. As Africans, our greatest resource is our land. This is one commodity that we have to guard.”
Zambia’s Patriotic Front secretary general, Mr Wynter Kabimba, called on the United States and the European Union to unconditionally lift sanctions they imposed on Zimbabwe to ensure peaceful, free and fair elections.
“We believe Zimbabweans can not hold peaceful polls with the albatross of sanctions on their neck. We call on those that have imposed the sanctions to remove them unconditionally. No country in the world has the right to determine the course of history for another country,” he said.
Mr Kabimba said Zanu-PF and the Patriotic Front had a symbiotic relationship.
“Apart from the fact that our party derived its name from Zanu-PF, we have similar policies and a history of fighting colonisation during the era of the Federation,” he said.
“We would like to commend Zanu-PF for engaging with the MDC-T to form a peaceful unity government and we would like to offer our support in the forthcoming elections.”
Frelimo’s secretary for external relations, Dr Xarzanda Selemame Cera, said her party will back Zanu-PF in the forthcoming elections as the two movements shared a strong bond.
“Frelimo and Zanu-PF share a common past and a common future. Frelimo will always walk side by side with Zanu-PF for the betterment of the peoples of Zimbabwe and Mozambique,” she said.
Dr Cristovao de Cunha, a Politburo member of Angola’s MPLA, said liberation movements should work together to ensure that the region was not invaded by Westerners.
“Since our independence, Angola has been a victim of destabilisation by foreign forces and we had to fight for three decades to get peace. We should not allow western forces to penetrate our systems and destabilise us,” he said.
Ms Viola Plummer of the United States-based December 12 Movement said Zanu-PF was a heroic party and Zimbabweans should unite against illegal sanctions. Some local organisations handed in their solidarity messages to the party’s secretariat because they could not all read them out on the podium.
Online Reporter