Monday, 20 November 2017
President Morgan Tsvangirai’s statement to the people of Zimbabwe
On Saturday, the people of Zimbabwe overwhelmingly responded to the call by the war veterans in a national expression that reinforced the fact that the intervention of the military had national support; that it was timely and irreversible.
President Mugabe’s statement in his televised address was a complete reversal of the people’s expectation. It dampened the people’s spirit and dimmed their hope for the nation to move forward. Therefore, the so-called negotiation with the army did not produce the dignified exit that the nation was expecting.
Moreover, the Zanu PF purges that were announced at the conclusion of the party’s central committee yesterday have further factionalised an already divided party— which does not bode well for a party in government that is expected to solve the challenges facing the ordinary people.
We in the MDC are deeply alarmed that the action spearheaded by the military, which they said was part of normalising the situation in the country, is in conflict with the party’s position, which is causing further anarchy in a party that must prioritise the people and their challenges.
As a consequence, the call by the MDC and its alliance partners for an all-inclusive process to take the country to legitimacy is the only way forward. We reiterate our call for an internationally-supervised process for the forthcoming elections, starting with the current voter registration exercise and ultimately the elections itself.
Lastly, if the military was motivated by the patriotic duty to return the country to normalcy, then there must be a call for an all-stakeholders’ meeting to craft a way forward without any further delay. Or else this confusion will undermine an otherwise good opportunity that would have steered the country towards a fresh start. It would be inimical to progress and the future of the country if all this action was about power retention at all costs.
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