The MDC Alliance’s 40-year-old leader Nelson Chamisa is facing-off against Zanu PF’s 75-year-old Emmerson Mnangagwa in an election which both politicians are desperate to win at all costs, albeit for different reasons. The MDC Alliance is a band of opposition parties which are contesting the election as a unit under Chamisa’s leadership.
Following gruelling campaigns, the day of reckoning has finally arrived for Zanu PF and the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance who go head to head in today’s high-stakes election –– which neither can afford to lose.
Mnangagwa, a street-smart veteran politician who is also known as the “Crocodile” because of his crafty political ways, desperately needs a victory in order to legitimise his rule. Mnangagwa ascended to the presidency in November following a military coup which forced former president Robert Mugabe, who is 94 years old, out of office after 37 years in power.
On the other hand, a victory for the MDC Alliance is likely to force the MDC’s internal structures to endorse Chamisa as the party’s legitimate leader. Chamisa seized power in February when a faction of the party elected him boss after the death of Morgan Tsvangirai, who founded the MDC in the early 2000s. However, in April the high court in Bulawayo ruled that Chamisa was not the MDC’s legitimate leader. This paved way for Dr Thokozani Khupe to assume the party’s leadership. Khupe is also contesting the presidential election under the banner of the MDC.
MNANGAGWA’S HEADACHES
Over and above the need to legitimise himself, Mnangagwa is involved in a do or die election in which an outright victory is necessary for several other reasons. A run-off will show opposition parties that a victory is within reach, prompting them to throw in their lot together in a desperate attempt to oust Zanu PF from power. Rumours from corridors of power in Harare are that there is a fallout between Mnangagwa and his vice president, retired army general Constantine Chiwenga. A source told City Press that Mnangagwa had promised to serve only one term. “Now he is talking about two terms and this means Chiwenga will have to wait for a decade before he becomes president.”
If the rumours are anything to go by, it does mean Mnangagwa is being stalked by fears of impeachment. If opposition parties win a significant number of seats in Parliament, Chiwenga’s supporters could simply gang up with the opposition and unseat Mnangagwa through a vote of no confidence or through impeachment. “His margin of error is small and he has to get it right the first time. He is walking a tightrope,” said the source.
However, the Crocodile is not without advantages. Because of their interests in Zimbabwe, the Chinese have reportedly funded Mnangagwa’s campaign to the tune of 200 million US dollars. That Zanu PF was armed with a deep war chest was clearly visible during the party’s last campaign rally at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on Saturday. The party was able to buy t-shirts, caps and scarves for the thousands of supporters who attended the rally. Zanu PF had also bussed in many of the party’s fans from rural areas across the country.
More than anything, said the source, the election is a referendum on Mnangagwa. “He needs his own mandate. He has been running on a borrowed mandate. But given the overwhelming in-built advantage, he will scrap through. He will emerge with a small margin.”
CHAMISA’S CHARM
Chamisa has staged a remarkable campaign which has exceeded expectations, given that he had to hit the ground shortly after Tsvangirai’s death. His final rally on Saturday, which was attended by an estimated 60 000 supporters, capped a marathon campaign which saw the energetic and charismatic leader address more than 70 political gatherings. An extra advantage for Chamisa is that he was speaking to the right constituency in that more than 60% of all the 5.7 million registered voters are said to be young people below 40.
Chamisa’s biggest shortcoming was the lack of resources, experience and quite poor logistics. He also made grand and unrealistic promises. Harare is littered with billboards in which Chamisa is promising bullet trains and clean energy sources at a time when simple things such as robots are not working in the capital and the economy is in tatters.
Source: New24
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