Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai today said next year’s elections will be one chance that the democratic movement cannot let slip because future generations will not forgive opposition leaders for letting them down.
“I wish to restate that we are on course, even though the pace might appear slow. The broader democratic movement has awakened and is slowly coming together,” he said in a statement.
“In my case, I have met with the church, political leaders from across the spectrum, the army, war veterans, civil servants and leaders of various social networks and civic groups who all converge on the need for a positive trajectory for this country that we love.
“We are very much aware, of course, that the stakes are high and that the regime will invest scarce national resources into nothing else but power retention.”
Zimbabwe’s opposition parties have agreed that the only way to oust ZANU-PF is through a united front and have tentatively agreed to form a coalition but they are as yet to agree on who the coalition leader will be.
Tsvangirai who will be making his fourth attempt at the presidency said all that was now needed was unity from the top to the grassroots.
“The huge task ahead is to ensure that the people freely express themselves in a credible election,” he said.
“To that end, we have shattered our petty differences in the democratic movement. We have found each other and we are now working together under one huge banner of the Zimbabwe National Electoral Reform Agenda (ZINERA).
“The aim is to ensure that the people’s free expression truly holds and that the country undergoes a peaceful transition where no one must feel their life is endangered.
“The change we seek will be good for every Zimbabwean, even for those who have tenaciously fought and frowned upon any prospect for change over the years. I wish to restate that we mean no harm to anyone and none of us should feel endangered by the change we seek….
“We in the broader democratic movement are all agreed on one thing; that we cannot let this one chance slip or else future generations will not forgive us for letting them down.
“The democratic movement is on the resurgence and indeed, a new Zimbabwe beckons on the horizon,” he said.
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