THE Welshman Ncube-led MDC has pulled out of the Constitutional Parliamentary Select Committee (Copac)-led awareness campaign for the draft constitution in protest after they were confined to carry out publicity meetings in only two out of the country’s 10 administrative provinces.
BY NQOBILE BHEBHE
Party secretary-general Priscilla Misihairabwi–Mushonga said the MDC pulled out of the campaign after it turned out that their two partners, MDC-T and Zanu PF, had made a decision to exclude the party from awareness campaigns in provinces other than the two provinces in the Matabeleland region.
“The MDC has pulled out of the Copac publicity campaign due to a decision taken by MDC–T’s Douglas Mwonzora and Zanu PF’s Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana to exclude the MDC from eight out of the 10 provinces.
It has turned out that it was, in fact, a strategy to use these fora as a platform to attack the MDC, particularly by Zanu PF,” Misihairabwi-Mushonga said.
“As a result of this, the MDC has pulled out from the two provinces where we were allowed to participate. As a party, we are going to be holding our own separate publicity campaigns and are no longer part of the (Copac-led) process.”
Misihairabwi-Mushonga’s party representative and Copac co-chair Edward Mkhosi described the move to pull out as “valid and noble”.
“As co-chair, I was never consulted as I was out of Harare on Copac business,” he said. “Copac co-chairs Douglas Mwonzora (MDC-T) and Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana (Zanu PF) just made the decision to exclude my party. So on Tuesday (tomorrow) a meeting with Mwonzora, Mangwana and I has been scheduled to look into the decision. However, the party decision to pull out is valid and noble.”
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Copac last week began rolling out national awareness campaigns on the draft constitution ahead of the referendum slated for March 16. The three main political parties — Zanu PF and the two MDCs — have agreed to work together, urging their members to vote “Yes” for the draft constitution and there were indications combined awareness rallies could be held.
But the MDC at the weekend claimed the party was restricted to only two provinces hence had resolved to conduct a parallel campaign blitz covering all the country’s 10 provinces.
Strenuous efforts to contact Mangwana yesterday were futile as his mobile phone went unanswered.
Last October, the MDC boycotted the official opening of the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference in protest over Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara’s presence.
The party, however, attended the thematic deliberations. Parliament has adopted the draft constitution, paving the way for the referendum.
The referendum will pave the way for elections to end the troubled inclusive government that came into effect in 2009 after disputes surrounding the presidential elections held in 2008.
