Nelson Chamisa: MDC Not Interested in Govt of National Unity
“One thing for certain, no to GNU. No to the issue of repeating what they did to president (the late Morgan) Tsvangirai. This is a new ball game, this is a new direction. If we are to have any kind of engagement, it has to be an engagement on issues to save Zimbabwe."
WASHINGTON — Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Nelson Chamisa says the MDC will not form a Government of National Unity (GNU) with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ruling Zanu PF party stressing that he won the July 30 presidential election. Speaking on VOA Studio 7 Livetalk on Monday evening, Chamisa said Mnangagwa has not even contacted him about moves to discuss issues bedeviling Zimbabwe. “One thing for certain, no to GNU. No to the issue of repeating what they did to president (the late Morgan) Tsvangirai. This is a new ball game, this is a new direction. If we are to have any kind of engagement, it has to be an engagement on issues to save Zimbabwe. “We have to put on the table five critical issues that have to be discussed. First one is the issue of legitimacy, the issue of the will of the people. It doesn’t make sense for people to go for an election, vote for a candidate of their choice only for that vote to be disregarded, discarded and ignored. We want the vote to count, we want the voice of the people to be respected. For that to happen we need to understand the contours of engagement, the terrain of engagement. Who does what, when and how?” He said the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, which killed six people in Harare a day after the harmonized elections in July when some agitated people were angry over delays in releasing presidential election results, should be confined to the barracks in order to map the way forward for Zimbabwe. “We do not want our soldiers, our military to be there dictating to the electorate who should be leading. Let not the gun guide politics. Politics must guide the gun.” Chamisa, who claims that he defeated Mnangagwa in the presidential election allegedly manipulated by the state-leaning Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, said there is need for comprehensive electoral reforms, national building, international engagement and media reforms, among many other issues. He noted that despite widespread rumours of talks between him and Mnangagwa, the Zimbabwean president has not yet contacted him about holding meetings over the current crisis in the country where the economy is sliding fast resulting in the panic buying of basic commodities and the skyrocketing of prices of many goods. He said, “I have not had any discussion, any contacts with Mr. Mnangagwa or any of his representatives or envoys. Not that I intend to have any at any time soon but that to clear the air. I have seen a lot of things flying around that Mr. Chamisa wants to be this ... “I’m actually surprised that the Sunday Mail in their own propaganda rollercoaster they would want to draw my name into it and chose to be my spokesperson. I do not want to be a prime minister. I have not said that I want to be a prime minister. I do not want to be a leader of the opposition in parliament because I’m not part of the opposition. We are the ruling and reigning party. We won the election on the 30 of July. People voted for us.” Chamisa’s remarks come at a time Zimbabwe is facing serious social and economic problems with prices of basic commodities skyrocketing. The southern African nation, which once recorded historic hyperinflationary figures before adopting multiple currencies in 2009, is also running out of flour, fuel and other commodities.