Financial Gazette (Harare)
Clemence Manyukwe
16 May 2008
interview
THE Financial Gazette Reporter Clemence Manyukwe (CM) had a wide-ranging interview with the secretary general of the Arthur Mutambara formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and a key member of the negotiating team under the Mbeki-brokered talks, Welshman Ncube (WN) in which the politician cleared the air on a number of issues pertaining to the aftermath of the March 29 polls. Excerpts:
What do you think is the solution to the current political crisis, the violence ahead of the run-off between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai?
The starting point is the acceptance by all political players of the will of the people. If all political players were to accept that it is the sovereign right of the people to freely elect a government of their choice no matter how we may disagree with their judgment. Even if we fiercely believe that it is a wrong judgment we must accept it as their sovereign right. If all political parties were to embrace that principle that the will of the people is sovereign... in my view that is the problem that faces the country at the moment - the refusal by the major political players that people can make a judgment, which is different from theirs. For as long as there is unwillingness to accept the judgment of the people we will have this crisis where the major political players seek to manipulate the will of the people.
How do you see Tsvangirai faring in this election?
The starting point is that in the previous election, Tsvangirai obtained the highest number of votes, which were cast as against all the other candidates and it appears to me that he will maintain the votes originally cast for him and will gain the majority of votes cast for the other opposition candidates because they were anti-Mugabe votes. It appears that those votes in a run-off will be cast for Tsvangirai. Approximately 58 percent were anti Mugabe votes and these votes will remain anti-Mugabe votes and will in all probability be cast for Tsvangirai. This therefore means that Tsvangirai stands the best chance of winning the run-off.
Will your grouping or MDC formation support Tsvangirai in the event of a run-off?
Our national council met two weeks ago and resolved that in the event of a run-off we should support the candidacy of Tsvangirai.
Do you think it was wise for Tsvangirai to go into self-imposed exile after the March 29 poll?
It's not for me to make a judgment on that. We understand that he was advised that his security was not conducive to his remaining in the country. It is only him who can make the judgment about his security.
You were involved in the SADC talks. Is President Mbeki an honest broker?
It is not for us to make a determination about the bona fides of President Mbeki. What we can judge is the outcome of the dialogue, which he facilitated. And for us the important thing is that the SADC dialogue brought onto one table the main political players in Zimbabwe to seek a resolution of the political crisis. Some of the things were settled, others remained contentious.
Notwithstanding the criticism levelled at that dialogue, it remains a fact that most of the reforms that made it possible to defeat (President) Mugabe in the last election were born out of that dialogue. For example, the often-criticized 18th Constitutional Amendment is responsible for the removal of the appointed seats in the House of Assembly. If we had not intervened, changed the content of Amendment 18 today the opposition would not have a majority in the House of Assembly. The 12 appointed MPs, the 10 governors -- that in itself would have wiped the majority of the opposition in the House of Assembly. It is one of the benefits of Amendment 18 that (President) Mugabe can't do anything about the outcome of the parliamentary election.
Secondly, the advertisements that the opposition was able to place on ZTV, on radio, state newspapers were all results of the dialogue.
Thirdly, the changes to POSA, (Public Order and Security Act), which made it possible for the opposition to hold meetings, as freely as happened were again the outcome of the SADC dialogue. The system of voting, counting at polling stations, tallying results at poling stations and posting them up at the door that made it impossible to rig the elections were all a result of the dialogue.
Of course that dialogue was incomplete because (President) Mugabe was in a hurry to frog march us into an election. As a result, there was no agreement on a new constitution; on how to handle the pre-election and post election period. That is the judgment some of us make of that dialogue.
Simba Makoni has proposed a government of national unity, your views on that?
We believe that the important thing is not to talk about the end result of the dialogue but to talk about the principles and the need for the parties to seek and negotiate a settlement. What is important is to respect the will of the people and within the context of that respect to find a solution that is agreeable to all the parties.
There was a story in a local weekly paper that said you, Gibson Sibanda and Paul Themba Nyathi have reached an understating with Tsvangirai's grouping to contest in three forthcoming by-elections...
That story is not only ridiculous, but also manifestly and patently false. First there has been no such deal between ourselves and the other MDC. Even if there had been, as a matter of principle we would never accept to contest in an election where any political party seeks to give us a free run. We can only run in an election where there is a genuine and real contest.
Thirdly, we ran in the election of March 29, we have no - absolutely no- intention of running in any of the by-elections, which were part of the same election but were suspended after the death of our members. It's like running twice in the same election.
But what does the law say? Does it allow running twice in the same election?
At law there is nothing that can prevent us. This is a political principle. We are not running.
To what do you attribute your loss as well as that of other leaders of your grouping in Bulawayo and Matabeleland in the March 29 poll?
We are democrats in words and in deed. The people of Bulawayo made their choice. We might disagree with that choice, but we fully and unconditionally respect their sovereign right to make that choice. It is not possible for us to go into the hearts and minds of the people who voted on March 29 in Bulawayo. We don't know why they voted the way they did. What we know is that we campaigned in every town, in every household, in every street in Bulawayo, we did campaign. We believe that the people made an informed choice. They had all the information before them and made the selection they did. We cannot second-guess them at this particular historical moment. That was their choice and we fully accept it.
There is word from some people that all is not well within your groping especially after Mutambara and Tsvangirai's press conference in South Africa?
There is no fallout and there are no divisions. There is one and only one resolution of the national council and that resolution is to say in the event of a presidential run-off between Tsvangirai and (President) Mugabe, our party will of necessity- unconditionally and in return for nothing- back Tsvangirai. We will assist them in the run-off. We ask for nothing in return. That is what president Mutambara sought to clarify.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Financial Gazette. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
