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The admission, which is contained in the party’s election strategy document titled “Priority Activities Ahead of 2013 Elections,” lies at the heart ofthe party’s recent demands for new voter registration and calls for a postponement of elections constitutionally due on or before midnight June 29 when the life of the Seventh Parliament ends.
The admission tallies with several recent surveys indicating a dip in support for the party amid a resurgence in Zanu-PF which is widely tipped to prevail in the harmonised elections.
“There is low voter registration in MDC strongholds, therefore the massive voter education and registration information and publicity has to be engaged in to ensure voter education material, dates and centres are readily available to the electorate.
“To broaden the scope of voter education and awareness to the electorate, encourage massive voter registration of the electorate, particularly in MDC strongholds,” reads part of the document.
The bulk of MDC-T’s million-dollar budget for the harmonised elections is going towards consumption at the expense of programmes, a development insiders equated to sanctioned looting of donor funds.
For instance, of the US$ 157 170 earmarked for candidate training US$127 950 will go towards consumption, leaving only US$29 220 for party programmes; of the US$37 450 earmarked for Leadership training, US$26 860 is for consumption; the same goes for candidate training where out of US$66 612 a whopping US$40 404 is for hotel accommodation and meals.
The documents show that MDC-T had planned to embark on a massive voter registration exercise beginning May 6 up to July 30 with the hope that elections were going to be held before or soon after the expiry of the term of office of Parliament.
Although the party was dismissing having elections in June, its priority activities ahead of the elections indicated that all activities were geared towards a June election, timelines that are in tandem with what President Mugabe has been insisting on.
“As the 2013 election draws near the party is confronted with a number of activities to ensure electoral victory. The activities include, polling agents training, candidate selection, candidate training, national leadership training in message discipline and development, leadership training in election campaign and communication at sub national level, membership data forms collections, national policy conference and voter registration information and publicity.”
The party’s training of 40 000 election agents to ensure that each polling station nationwide had at least four agents was scheduled to start on June 01 and ends on June 15.
Primary elections to select candidates to contest against other parties was supposed to start from May 20 and end on the 21st after which successful candidates would be trained in election campaign and communication, leadership, recruitment and mobilisation from June 15 to 20.
The training will be targeting House of Assembly members, Senators and mayors.
The timelines for leadership training in message discipline and communication skills was scheduled to start from May 22 to 25. The candidates would be trained in message discipline, election campaign messages, public speaking among others issues.
The party had targeted to train provincial and district leaders in election campaign and disseminating election messages from June 1 to the 12th.
Data forms collections and capturing was supposed to be done between May 8 and the 15th .
“The party will discuss and publish party policies ahead of election at a national policy conference. The policies are a recipe of MDC government when it wins the coming elections,” reads the document in part.
This national policy conference starts today and ends on Sunday.
The bulk of the MDC-T’s million dollar budget for the harmonised elections is going towards consumption at the expense of party programmes, a development party insiders attributed to preparing for a post-election life.
The programme will see massive spending in training programmes for members from grassroots to national levels.
MDC – T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora, yesterday said his party had the right to design its programmes according to its own timelines.
“The MDC has always said the election date is process driven and should be in terms of the fulfillment of agreed processes, for example the just-ended completion of the constitution, voter registration and alignment of laws. The reason for us to demand this is we do not want a repeat of the 2008 elections. The MDC is entitled to estimate the time of which these processes maybe fulfilled,” he said.
Online Reporter