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NewsDay

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Will MDC-T fritter away this goodwill?

Columnists
Zanu PF’s project to win back the critical position of Speaker through a whipped vote in Parliament fell on its face on Tuesday evening. On a day packed with drama and preceded by frantic manoeuvres by the Zanu PF propaganda machinery, a salutary message rang from the House after the results of the polling by […]

Zanu PF’s project to win back the critical position of Speaker through a whipped vote in Parliament fell on its face on Tuesday evening.

On a day packed with drama and preceded by frantic manoeuvres by the Zanu PF propaganda machinery, a salutary message rang from the House after the results of the polling by MPs was announced.

The comedown for Zanu PF was aptly captured by ZBC’s failure to give the events in Parliament a prominent slot on the main news just an hour after MDC-T’s Lovemore Moyo beat Zanu PF’s Simon Khaya Moyo for the Speakership.

This relegation of the story to a footnote on the news captured the disappointment of the Zanu PF establishment which saw an opportunity to land the Speakership after Lovemore Moyo was deposed from the position after a Supreme Court ruling early this month.

Zanu PF lost the poll because the two MDC formations decided to work together to block Simon Khaya Moyo from taking over the Speakership.

More significantly, the whip appeared to have had no effect on certain Zanu PF MPs who voted for the MDC-T’s Lovemore Moyo, thus virtually rebelling against their national chairman and ideals of their own party.

The identity of the mutineers may never be known, but this is a clear message that the bhora mudondo brigade is still very much alive in Zanu PF. I will get back to this subject later.

What is emblematic though about the result of the vote in Parliament is that the critical swing votes, which were held by the fractious small MDC faction, backed Lovemore Moyo.

There is a wrangle between DPM Arthur Mutambara and Industry minister Welshman Ncube over the leadership of the party amid speculation that Mutambara was gravitating towards Zanu PF.

Ncube, on the other hand, has not been complementary about the MDC-T, branding the party leadership “pseudo-democrats and hypocrites”.

But on Tuesday they chose to vote with the MDC-T.

They chose to vote against Zanu PF’s stubborn repression and chicanery.

The MDC formations elected to stand for the common good against Zanu PF which in typical fashion was its worst enemy in the period preceding the vote in Parliament.

The alliance between the MDCs was cemented by Zanu PF’s attack on civil liberties and attempt to close the democratic space.

There was feverish activity by instruments of the state subservient to Zanu PF to ensure that the MDCs were not afforded the opportunity to assemble and hold rallies.

MDC-T MPs were wantonly arrested and detained while its suborned media was recruited to spew hate-filled messages all in the name of propping SK Moyo’s candidature.

Repression is one of the main instruments for dictatorships to maintain power.

The role of repression in instilling fear into the people who might challenge existing conditions is obvious but it is never a winning formula. Zanu PF, however, still finds reason to employ this discredited approach.

Zanu PF’s defeat over the Speakership has exposed its soft underbelly.

There are chinks in its armour. The crevices were rudely exposed after the 2008 polls and on Tuesday attempts to paper the cracks failed.

A fundamental feature of the 2008 poll was a curious phenomenon where President Mugabe lost the vote in a constituency won by his party’s candidate.

President Mugabe has complained bitterly about this experience which he said should never be repeated. It was repeated at a micro-level in Parliament on Tuesday.

There are MPs within the ranks of his party who are disengaging with the party.

Zanu PF propagandists after the defeat in Parliament tried to mask their disappointment by surmising that this was democracy at play. Perhaps; but it is emerging that there is discontent in the Zanu PF edifice.

The only solace though for Zanu PF is the MDCs’ failure to exploit on this discontent to consolidate on the 2008 gains.

I have always pointed out that the since 2008, the MDC-T has continued to behave like an opposition party, constantly chasing the game in its endless duels with Zanu PF.

The party needs to pick up the ball and run with it.

It does not make sense that voters in the rural areas who voted for Tsvangirai in 2008 and also elected MDC-T MPs to Parliament spend three years without seeing the party leadership.

I have always wondered what stops Tsvangirai as Prime Minister from visiting Mudzi district and hold a rally at Muzezuru School.

Why has the PM not visited places like Mt Darwin, Dotito, Muzarabani or Rushinga yet he expects votes from those areas?

The point here is that the MDC-T victory in Parliament on Tuesday should make sense to all its supporters.

The democratisation agenda – as expounded in the GPA – is way behind schedule.

There is a raft of legislation which must be repealed and new laws and policies should be put in place to ensure future elections are held in a free and fair environment.

The MDC-T must devise ways of putting its best foot forward and exploit on the vast goodwill to hand. What will party do with this newfound glory?

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