Madhuku warns MDC against poll boycott

Madhuku warns MDC against poll boycott

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By Fikile Mapala

LOVEMORE Madhuku, the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) pressure group chairman has warned the opposition Movemement for Democratic Change (MDC) against boycotting general elections slated for the end of March, predicting another split if party leaders insist on non-participation.

Madhuku, a leading academic and constitutional reform activist, said the MDC should abandon its call for a new constitution and participate in the polls for strategic reasons.

Madhuku said it would be “dangerous” for the MDC to boycott the forthcoming joint elections as it will be threat to the unity and integrity of the party.

He said: “If the MDC want to remain united, they should participate in this election that Mugabe is calling for. Otherwise there will be another split very soon.”

The MDC is currently trying to work-out a unity deal between its two rival factions after an acrimonious split in October 2005. The split then was over whether to boycott or participate in senate elections, with Tsvangirai favouring a boycott.

The NCA chairman said senior officials determined to participate in the general elections had become stronger than the 2005 dissenters, led by the party’s secretary general, Welshman Ncube.

He said: “The group of people who are determined to participate in these elections for personal reasons have become stronger that October 12 faction. Boycotting will not be good for Tsvangirai. I actually sympathise with him on this one.”

Tsvangirai has in the past threatened to boycott the elections, demanding that the polls be moved to June to allow for the adoption of a new constitution.

But Madhuku warned that it would be suicidal for the Tsvangirai-led MDC faction to boycott the March elections given that there were many in his faction determined to participate.

Madhuku said: “I know Tsvangirai is against participating in this ritual to legitimise Mugabe’s sham elections. You do not need me to tell you this because Tsvangirai has been very clear about it. He knows the playing field is not level and he has always said the MDC should boycott. But it will be dangerous for Tsvangirai to boycott this election.”

Madhuku was speaking at a public meeting dubbed ‘New Zimbabwe Lecture Series’ convened by the Zimbabwe Crisis Coalition in Harare on Tuesday.

As party president, Tsvangirai presided over the MDC split in 2005 when he vetoed a decision of the party’s national council to participate in senatorial elections. The national council had voted 33:31 in favour of participation.

Madhuku said those in favour of participation were determined to go all the way because they had invested heavily in the elections through campaigning and lobbying in and outside the party.

The university law lecturer also predicted that smaller opposition parties wanting to gain political mileage in the absence of the MDC would ignore the calls for a poll boycott.

The MDC risks becoming irrelevant after boycotting the elections Madhuku said.

According to Madhuku, another problem would be trying to convince the other MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara to boycott the elections in the event that the rival factions come together under a united front.

He said the Mutambara-led faction was a group of “participators” who strongly believe in participating in all national elections as a prerogative of their existence as political party.

Madhuku said: “It is a waste of time to debate whether the Mutambara faction will participate or boycott the elections. It is obvious. Those are participators. They believe in participation. That is why they voted in favour of participation before the 2005 split.”

Those in favour of participation have argued that it is the function of every political party to gain power through elections.

The MDC faction led by Mutambara insists that it is imperative to participate in all national elections in order to protect political space gained during previous elections as well as maintaining strategic visibility in parliament and local councils.

Madhuku urged the MDC to participate in the elections on the basis that they did not seem to have a viable alternative after boycotting the polls.

President Robert Mugabe has set March 29 as the date for the harmonised elections giving the opposition MDC limited time to decide on strategy before the nomination court sits.

In a proclamation published in an extraordinary government gazette last Friday, Mugabe also set February 8 as the day of the sitting of nomination court.

The national councils of the respective MDC formations are set to meet this week to officially decide on whether the opposition should participate or boycott the harmonised elections.

Political analysts who concur that the electoral playing field is tilted in favour of Mugabe predict that the opposition will eventually decide to participate in the elections which many say will culminate in a Zanu PF victory.

About 5,6 million Zimbabweans have so far registered for the polls in which Mugabe -- who turns 84 next month and has ruled since Independence in 1980 -- has been controversially endorsed as the ruling party’s presidential candidate.
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