Chamisa threatens to pull out of elections

Movement for Democratic Change Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has threatened to pull out of the coming elections, which are now only 26 days away, unless several conditions, including an immediate stop to the printing of ballot papers, are met.

He has also demanded an urgent meeting with President Emmerson Mnangagwa both as the Head of State and as a presidential candidate.

Below is Chamisa’s full statement.

Wednesday, 04 July 2018

Statement by President advocate Nelson Chamisa

Fellow Zimbabweans, I come before you to express my gratitude for the tremendous support, solidarity and kindness that you have shown to the cause, to us, particularly myself and my esteemed colleagues in the MDC Alliance.

I cannot thank you enough for the inspiring courage, bravery and commitment that you have demonstrated in the last few months, as we prepare for the forthcoming elections.

The spirit of freedom abounds across the land and I am humbled to be walking hand in hand with you to our inevitable final victory.

I also want take this opportunity to publicly welcome our guests, the regional and international observers who have come from around the world to bear witness to our historic election on 30 July 2018. This is the first post-Mugabe election. An opportunity to correct and undo past electoral misdemeanours and transgressions known by all of you.

They are here because they know an election is not an event which starts and ends in a single day. It is a process that begins well before polling day and continues well after it, until at least there is transfer of power, which we are confident will happen this year. It is necessary and long overdue.

Thank you for being here with us and I hope you will, during your time here, also enjoy our traditional Zimbabwean hospitality. Our people are kind and generous, please feel at home. And as you travel around our country, please take time to enjoy the gifts of nature that God, the Almighty has bestowed on this wonderful country.

Fellow Zimbabweans, the last few months have been truly phenomenal. As the MDC family, we rose from the depths of mourning and despair when, in February, we lost our icon and father of democracy, Dr Morgan Richard Tsvangirai to begin to dream and believe once again. His funeral became a seed to the renewal of the spirit of the struggle that he guided with impeccable and courageous leadership.

As I traverse the country, I see great hope and deep passion in the eyes of the people, the young and old, men and women, even boys and girls whose future is at stake in this election. We are a nation of kind and generous people with great courage, big hearts, resilience and creativity. These qualities have seen us through extremely tough times and we bank on them once again to see us through at this historic moment.

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