MDC Alliance Set To Collapse Ahead Of 2018 Election: Chronicle Reporter

Chronicle reporter Nobleman Runyanga argues that MDC Alliance is set to collapse ahead of the 2018 harmonised elections set to be held on July 30.

He says this is because the smaller parties in the MDC Alliance have grievances on how they are being treated by the MDC-T. Runyanga argues the smaller parties are just pawns in Chamisa’s chess game. Below is an excerpt of Runyanga’s opinion piece:

The house which the late MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai built in 2017 with the co-operation of six other opposition parties is falling apart.

Its centre is failing to hold any longer and the political outfit is set to crumble ahead of the July 30 harmonised election.

Right from the beginning, Tsvangirai was at loggerheads with senior party members such as his then deputies, Thokozani Khupe and Nelson Chamisa, over joining other parties in the proposed grand coalition.

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Chamisa and Khupe as well as other senior members were strongly opposed to the grand coalition idea. Khupe felt that joining any political grouping was only necessary in areas where the party fared badly while Chamisa contended that the MDC-T had a long history in the opposition, enjoyed huge support and, therefore, should take on Zanu-PF on its own.

Chamisa, who most MDC-T youths looked up to as a role model, became a source of influence to the party’s young generation supporters on the issue.

In view of this background, the coalition stood very little chance of survival. The ill-fated nature of the alliance was evident when the idea of a grand coalition only materialised as a seven member collective of the MDC-T and six small opposition parties.

Less than a year down the line, the harsh reality of the incompatibility of a large opposition party and six largely unknown parties is coming to the fore. 

More: Chronicle