HARARE – MDC Alliance vice president Welshman Ncube said the party is still ready to give President Mnangagwa a chance for genuine dialogue between the two parties to resolve key issues grappling the country.
The party however has maintained its stance for genuine dialogue which does not include other ‘mickey mouse’ parties under the POLAD banner.
Key issues which have divided the country under the Mnangagwa regime include the legitimacy question created by the November 2017 coup and the disputed July 2018 elections.
The elections saw the incumbent controversially declared winner ahead of MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa.
“The issues relating to the rule of law and the capture of the courts have reached unprecedented levels which we never experienced during Robert Mugabe’s rule.
“The violence taking place continuously is epitomised by what you see outside the constant, continuous violation of our basic rights. We have people gathering outside today to seek to intimidate us from exercising our political rights,” said Ncube.
Ncube said while the MDC Alliance was open to dialogue with Zanu PF on the way forward, it had no interest in engaging political leaders and parties who had no verifiable electoral support.
“In a democracy, one of the fundamental things is consultation. POLAD [Political Actors Dialogue] was born unilaterally, constituted by President Mnangagwa alone without consulting anybody,” Ncube said.
“The second principle is that if you are to have a seat anywhere where there is dialogue concerning the rights of people, you must have a constituency,” Ncube went on.
“The MDC Alliance cannot agree to be at a table with individuals who have no political party, ran as presidential candidates and got zero votes in the majority of polling stations.
“We don’t believe you should be at the dialogue table merely because you contested at a presidential election. We don’t believe POLAD is a viable platform for dialogue.”
The MDC Alliance is anxious to get the Zanu PF government to accept a raft of electoral reforms ahead of elections in 2023.
In the last two weeks in Masvingo and Manicaland provinces, MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa rode the gauntlet of stone-throwing Zanu PF supporters accusing him of inviting sanctions.
Several party officials were hurt.
