MDC-T in dilemma as Tsvangirai admits defeat

Harare Bureau
The MDC-T is in a dilemma following its crushing defeat in the July harmonised elections with its embattled leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai grudgingly admitting President Mugabe and Zanu-PF won the polls and have the mandate to run the country for the next five years.

President Mugabe last week formed a 26-member Cabinet to drive Zanu-PF’s people-centred policies expected to turn around the economy. The revolutionary party also routed the MDC-T in three council election run-offs held in Matabeleland North,  Mashonaland

West and Manicaland provinces last week, sealing its unchallengeable victory.
Addressing a poorly attended MDC-T 14th anniversary celebration at Sakubva Stadium in Mutare on Saturday, Mr Tsvangirai was clueless and failed to map the way forward for his party whose support base is rapidly dwindling judging by the less than                                  3 000 supporters who graced the occasion.

“Although (President) Mugabe was inaugurated as President of the country and a Government is now there, we will continue to remind them that they did not win the elections. But if they are insisting that they won, we are saying go ahead and govern. Give the people what you promised during the campaigns,” he said.

The party celebrated its 14th anniversary amid growing calls for the ouster of Mr Tsvangirai for failing to steer the Western-sponsored movement to victory.

Mr Tsvangirai has in the last 15 years failed to lead his party to election victory, with his latest attempt ending in massive humiliation. However, on Saturday he vowed to remain put as party leader until they had the opportunity to win polls in the future.
Mr Tsvangirai said he was going back to the grassroots to mobilise the people and ask them the way forward.

“What is the way forward? Where do we go from here? As a party and leadership we have been talking to the people. The way forward is for us to maintain our mass line and continue to actively engage the people of Zimbabwe, to have perennial dialogue with the people.

From today onwards, we will come to your villages, we will come to your districts and provinces talking about how we can go forward,” he said.

As Mr Tsvangirai addressed the people, some of his supporters could be heard from the terraces shouting; “so what are you going to do?”
He also accused Angola and China of having assisted Zanu-PF to allegedly manipulate the polls in favour of the revolutionary party. He accused Angola of facilitating the sale of the country’s Marange diamonds for use by Zanu-PF in “rigging the elections”.