Full statement
Monday, 05 September 2016
MDC will work with all democratic opposition political parties
Since its formation in September 1999,the MDC has bench-marked its ideological inclination on social democracy.
The MDC is a political party that firmly and fervently believes in peacefully and democratically removing the deeply entrenched Zanu PF dictatorship from power. It is without doubt that the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai is arguably the largest and most popular political party in Zimbabwe judging by the sheer size of its massive grassroots support base.
Indeed, President Morgan Tsvangirai is the only opposition political party leader who managed to beat Robert Mugabe in a Presidential election in March 2008.Mugabe himself, in a rare feat of candour and honestly, recently disclosed that President Morgan Tsvangirai had won the March 2008 Presidential election by more than 73%.
Although the MDC is a big political party with massive grassroots support, we have consistently stated that we will never adopt "a big brother" attitude and thus, treat other opposition political parties as minions and fringe political operators. In our quest to establish a new, democratic and developmental state in Zimbabwe, we are always willing to collaborate and synergise with all other democratic political parties, big or small.
The MDC is convinced that all Zimbabweans deserve to live in a country that is peaceful and that is governed according to strict democratic principles where respect for the rule of law is sacrosanct.
The MDC is going to forge sustainable and workable alliances with all organisations that cherish the creation of a new Zimbabwe that will abhor autocracy, corruption and dictatorship. We are pleased to note that genuine war veterans, with solid and impeccable liberation war credentials, have, of late, openly shown their appreciation and indeed, respect for the role that President Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC have played over the past seventeen years, in peacefully and bravely confronting the brutal Zanu PF regime.
In this context, therefore, it is quite clear that the MDC has, against all odds, always possesed the necessary political credentials and intellectual stamina to establish a new people – centred government in Zimbabwe. The main challenge remains that Zanu PF regime has routinely rigged and manipulated the electoral system. This is the major reason why, under the NERA trajectory, the MDC has joined more than seventeen other opposition political parties in fighting for the adoption of electoral reforms before Election 2018.
The MDC strongly believes that without electoral reforms being adopted, the Zanu PF regime will always continue to rig elections and thus, deny the people of Zimbabwe their constitutional right to choose a government of their choice in a free and fair election.
MDC: Equal Opportunities For All
Obert Chaurura Gutu
National Spokesperson
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