Movement for Democratic Change leader Nelson Chamisa today said that his party will embark on a comprehensive reform agenda to ensure that democracy prevails in the country but he said that he would not preempt the party’s plan because he was afraid that the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front will start implementing the ideas.
He said this at the launch of the party’s reform document to move the country forward called the Road to Economic Recovery, Legitimacy, Openness And Democracy (RELOAD).
The document is not yet freely available to the public.
The MDC last year delayed launching its manifesto for the 2018 harmonised elections because it was afraid ZANU-PF would steal its ideas.
The document set out a five-point road map aimed at dislodging the Emmerson Mnangagwa administration.
Apart from the reform agenda, the other points were: diplomatic and political pressure on the government, national dialogue, national transitional mechanism and free and fair elections.
On diplomatic and political pressure on the Mnangagwa administration, the MDC said it would exert pressure on the government to reclaim its victory in the 30 July elections.
The party has not challenged parliamentary elections results but challenged and lost the court case on presidential elections. It, however, insists that it won the elections and the problems that Zimbabwe is facing are largely due to legitimacy.
The party said dialogue was necessary to end the issue of legitimacy but it said that dialogue has to be facilitated by international adjudicators.
It also talked about establishing a national transitional mechanism to lift the country from the present crisis and usher Zimbabwe into new elections.
It, however, said there was need for electoral reforms before the nation goes to the polls, insisting that there will not be any elections if the current Zimbabwe Electoral Commission team is still in place because it is biased towards ZANU-PF.
The MDC document was largely ignored by the media which focussed on arrested MDC vice-chairman Job Sikhala who appeared in court in Bikita today and was remanded in custody to 24 July.
One political commentator Pardon Gambakwe described it as one of the worst documents to be released by a political party.
Jabulani Mlauzi, responding to a tweet by Chamisa’s spokesman Nkululeko Sibanda for everyone to be party of RELOAD, queried: “Is it #RELOAD or #DEFRAUD, @DrNkuSibanda we have already started thinking you are taking us for fools. You are merely buying time for your puppet masters at Zanu Pf HQ. Besides you guys are too rich to be concerned about poor people’s issues!”
At least two twitter followers queried why the MDC was participating in by-elections if it did not want to participate in elections being conducted by the current ZEC team.
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