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WATCH: Zim Had Questionable Democratic Credentials After Coup & We Needed Elections: George Charamba

4 years agoSat, 22 Jun 2019 12:17:36 GMT
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WATCH: Zim Had Questionable Democratic Credentials After Coup & We Needed Elections: George Charamba

In a video published by Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN), presidential spokesperson, George Charamba said that Zimbabwe had questionable democratic credentials after the November 2017 coup and before the 2018 elections. He says given that background the Emmerson Mnangagwa as president then, could not have agreed to National Dialogue for the formation of a unity government.

Charamba was responding to an apparent letter sent by Chamisa to Mnangagwa through then MDC Chief of Staff then Sesel Zvidzai.

Said Charamba:

I acknowledge, through the instructions of Chamisa, one Zvizvai wrote to the president who then was finishing the term of his predecessor. he had not been tested electorally. In fact, that letter’s whole import was to prepare ground for a conversation that would lead to a deferment of elections. We didn’t find that appealing at all.

We didn’t find that cohering with our own calculations. because ultimately political power must come from the say so from the voter. Which means, whatever the circumstances, whatever the history, we needed to be tested democratically by way of the ballot.

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After all, one of the key flashpoints by way of engagement and re-engagement conundrum arose from the questionable democratic credentials of Zimbabwe. So we would never have put dialogue ahead of elections. Essentially this was a well-meant letter written out of time to preempt a process that was inevitable. Namely that of going to the polls, and, as you and me will recall. July came, we went to the polls, we got a result.

So essentially, a conversation cannot start on the basis of a communication that was done prematurely. It actually starts after the democratic standard had been fulfilled. In which case conversation then starts. What was the result? Well, President Mnangagwa, Zanu-PF, not just won, but won enough to command a two-thirds majority in parliament.

Here is a whole president, who has undisputed in numerical terms, undisputed in terms of standards by the world democratic credentials, who has won an election, but who still comes round to say ‘hey, in spite of my victory, in spite of superlative performance I’m inviting you all, my contestants, to share in my victory, for the sake of our country.’  But not to go back to the political questions which is already resolved by the voter, but to now pull the ideas that we may have as individuals, in order to move this country forward.

And it is critical for each and every one of us to know that the national dialogue is not out to solve a political question because none exists. It is there to harness the national intellect to resolving the economic challenges, the social challenges that we face as a people. But of course, it is also out to sharpen the democratic infrastructure by way of the institutions ahead of 2023.

 

The Chamisa letter discussed by Charamba made the headlines in 2018 after Chamisa said that he had, through the letter, offered to help Mnangagwa to take the country forward through collective leadership. He said then at a rally:

“I wrote to (President) Mnangagwa offering him advice, but he refused fearing that I would grab power from him. I did that after realising that we could only take the country forward through collective leadership, but he refused to meet me.

I told (President)Mnangagwa to come and let us talk. People do agree. He refused. Then I said if you don’t understand, I am writing a letter to you

Here’s a copy of the letter, published last year by The Herald:

 

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