I do not want to be Prime Minister or Opposition leader- I should be president- Chamisa

Movement for Democratic Change leader Nelson Chamisa says he does not want to be the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe or the opposition leader for that matter because he won the 30 July elections.

Chamisa is still insisting he won the elections though he failed to prove that in the Constitutional Court after challenging the result.

He told the Voice of America’s Studio 7 yesterday that he was not interested in forming a government of national unity because he won the elections.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa says he wants to adopt the British or Commonwealth system under which the leader of the opposition is recognised and is paid a salary and perks by the government.

“I have not had any discussion, any contacts with Mr Mnangagwa or any of his representatives or envoys. Not that I intend to have any at any time soon but that to clear the air. I have seen a lot of things flying around that Mr. Chamisa wants to be this,” Chamisa told VOA.

“I’m actually surprised that the Sunday Mail in their own propaganda rollercoaster they would want to draw my name into it and chose to be my spokesperson. I do not want to be a prime minister. I have not said that I want to be a prime minister. I do not want to be a leader of the opposition in parliament because I’m not part of the opposition. We are the ruling and reigning party. We won the election on the 30th of July. People voted for us.”

It is not clear whether Chamisa was using the royal we because the 30 July elections were harmonised elections where Zimbabweans were choosing their Member of Parliament, local councilor and president.

The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front won 145 of the 210 elected seats in the National Assembly and Chamisa has not challenged these results the same way he challenged the presidential election result.

Chamisa insists that Mnangagwa cannot turn around the country’s economy unless he solves the issue of legitimacy.

“One thing for certain, no to GNU. No to the issue of repeating what they did to president Tsvangirai. This is a new ball game, this is a new direction. If we are to have any kind of engagement, it has to be an engagement on issues to save Zimbabwe,’ he told VOA.

“We have to put on the table five critical issues that have to be discussed. First one is the issue of legitimacy, the issue of the will of the people. It doesn’t make sense for people to go for an election, vote for a candidate of their choice only for that vote to be disregarded, discarded and ignored. We want the vote to count, we want the voice of the people to be respected. For that to happen we need to understand the contours of engagement, the terrain of engagement. Who does what, when and how?”

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