POLITICAL analysts have warned Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF) leader, Joice Mujuru not to be carried away because of the huge turnout at her maiden rally in Bulawayo at the weekend, and ditch other opposition parties in her endeavour to spring a surprise on Zanu PF in the 2018 elections.
by Everson Mushava
The analysts warned Mujuru to avoid developing a “big sister mentality”, lest she digs her own political grave if she ignores calls for a coalition among opposition parties.
Mujuru managed to pull an estimated 4 000 people to her first rally as an opposition leader in Bulawayo on Saturday, proving she was not a fluke.
Analyst, Alexander Rusero said Mujuru’s Bulawayo rally showed that she was not a political spent force, but warned her to guard against complacency.
“It also put to rest levels of criticism and scepticism expressed of late over her reluctance to quickly assert her political influence,” he said.
Rusero said Mujuru represented “a tired and frustrated erstwhile Zanu PF support base” and she will not disrupt opposition support, but that of her former party that was struggling to contain factionalism.
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“So, the game changer would be a formidable coalition of MDC-T and Zimbabwe People First, which needs a lot of giving than taking,” he said.
“If the two protagonists, Mujuru and (MDC-T leader Morgan) Tsvangirai decide to go it alone, they would have blown a very good chance of political change in Zimbabwe and success of their political careers too for the umpteenth time.”
The MDC-T has of late been attracting bumper crowds at its anti-government demonstrations in major cities, a move widely interpreted as a show of power to counter Zanu PF youths’ million-man march in solidarity with President Robert Mugabe last month.
But, analyst Maxwell Saungweme warned that large numbers at campaign rallies and public political meetings do not necessarily translate into votes.
“Using the seemingly swelling numbers at that maiden rally as a political prognosis for her chances in 2018 is unscholarly and premature,” he said.
“The numbers at best demonstrate that she has some following and, therefore, hers is an opposition political party worth mentioning on Zimbabwe’s political landscape.”
South Africa-based Zimbabwean commentator, Blessing Vava concurred saying: “It is too early to judge. It will be interesting to see how the other rallies will turn out, but there is no doubt that she is making an impact on the political landscape that has mainly been dominated by Zanu PF and the MDC-T.”
