BY Dr Masimba MAVAZA | The combined force of all opposition parties will not be enough to stop Zanu PF winning the crucial 2018 elections.
Under the heading of a ‘progressive alliance’, each party will put forward a contender for the presidential post as they believe this tactic provides the best chance of challenging ZANU PF’s political hegemony in Zimbabwe.

ZANU PF will claim victory putting the result down to the fact that they had ‘campaigned considerably more than other candidates’. “While others were arguing amongst themselves ZANU PF is out every single day, knocking on doors every day, talking to people,” calling on rallies campaigning where it matters and not on line or abroad.

There is the low level of public engagements by the opposition and their grand coalition is a talk on social media and not to the grassroots there is no talk to minimise the general sense of apathy. “I don’t think many people in the opposition care about elections. This because the opposition always have boycott in the back of their mind. The coalition becomes a boycott association offering no hope to the people.

A mooted coalition based only on “Mugabe Must go” as the main ideological masterpiece designed to unite over forty opposition parties to confront Robert Mugabe in 2018, will not only fail but will be remembered as the greatest betrayal of Zimbabwean people in the history of mankind.
With MDC being the master if boycotts uniting with them becomes a big joke.

Judging by the number of political parties being registered on a daily basis, one can only conclude that people really take the masses for granted and seems like it’s a money making scheme, people in Diaspora mainly in Europe and US have used political parties as fund raising adventure. They are forming parties like they are forming social clubs.
Zimbabwean laws on forming political parties exposes the masses to abuse.

Politics is a numbers game. But who has the numbers the mushrooming of churches and political parties in Zimbabwe needs capping. It has become a free fall and the people have been taken for a ride. This has attacked the pinnacles of democracy itself.

Numbers determine all sorts of things it is the numbers which make the party great or useless. Now we see two people forming a group on whatsapp and they call it a political party. This has become an insult to the people of Zimbabwe. Instead of developing ideas within established parties they run around with half baked ideas calling them a manifesto.

Zimbabwe has a lot of political parties who are very experienced in losing elections at any level.
It is these group of losers who want to come up and form a grand coalition.

The opposition does well in strategising elections only to boycott them at the last second. They form a grand coalition of failures and pretenders.
The greatest thing they do is to form a grand begging bowl. A coalition of failures.

In order to save face they boycott at the last minute. Norton by-election won by an Temba Mutasa Mliswa with help from MDC-T, is only notable achievement of a coalition. Then enters ZIMPF, which splits into two baskets before they even start to walk. Imagining them in a coalition is surely dreaming of an elephant driving a Datsun 120y. They have failed to unite themselves and still hope to play an influential role in a grand coalition.

So any hopes of having a new player to galvanise the electorate is a dream of an old woman dreaming while she is four.
Coalition is not a viable option at this juncture. It is only a pie in the air. A big plan in the pipeline but the problem is there is no pipeline.

In many democratic countries, there are only two or three political parties with a significant level of popular support in elections. This means coming together in such scenarios is a teal game changer. So it is necessary for those parties to come together to form a viable coalition/government, generally under the leadership of the leader of the largest party involved. In Zimbabwe the ruling party has invested in people. No amount of vilification can adversely affect ZANU PF.

In that case what then is the role of other smaller or unknown parties pushing for the coalition? I can only foresee Confusion and infighting for positions. Selfishness is pulling our country backwards. Small parties comprising of only two people talk very big but act very small. Grand coalition is an insult to the Zimbabwean people
It should be noted that the opposition in Zimbabwe can be awarded for Insanity. They have either split just before elections or simply boycott the elections all together.

What will happen if Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti, Joyce Mujuru, Elton Mangoma, Simba Makoni, Egypt Dzinemunhenzva, Lovemore Madhuku and all unknown leaders of the likes of NDU, PPP, ZPD, etc including the Protesting movements like #ThisFlag and Tajamuka expend their energy mobilising people on behalf of Morgan Tsvangirai from now on till election day in 2018? The answer is clear. Tsvangirai will withdraw a day before elections.
We do agree fully that opposition parties have a right to destroy themselves before elections.

It is their democratic right to contest but honestly we know that they are nothing but toothless dogs. Nothing will come out of it.
The biggest problem in the so called grand coalition of failures is that each opposition wants to have their leader as the president.

Yes it is true that Tsvangirai has been tested and tried in failure and has succeeded in failure. He still wants to lead a group of failures to fail. Normally winning trams are not changed.
So loosing team is a disaster to its supporters and the opposition having been so used to failure can not imagine themselves beyond failure. In this way they are not compatible with success.
Any coalition is bound to fail as it is controlled by selfishness and partisan politics.
If the opposition leaders are genuine about loving Zimbabwe, they should simply mobilise people on behalf of One person as 2018 sole candidate to stand any chance of removing Mugabe from power. Forget about coalition positions.Another realistic option is to reconcile the opposition leadership, amnesty for all rebels, re-join ZANU PF and have an uncontested election.

We need transitional democracy if there is such a thing because to continue with a dictatorship masquerading as democratic opposition is not going to work. And Morgan Tsvangirai has failed in all he tried so he must learn to surrender.
The way things are now ZANU PF should not lose sleep over the so called grand coalition it is scare crow.
Opposition is disorganised and totally confused. Any coalition is a dream not yet dreamt.

Vazet2000@yahoo.co.uk