EMBATTLED Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader, Nelson Chamisa says the unresolved disputed 2023 general elections have to be addressed if the country is to move forward.

Months after the August 2023 plebiscite, there remains a political standoff, with the opposition refusing to accept the outcome that granted President Emmerson Mnangagwa a second and final term.

Chamisa said the country can not move forward without addressing the last year's general elections.

"There is no next election without fixing the fraud, chicanery and cheating problems of the past and last elections. 23 August 2023 was a gigantic fraud- a source of national shame and international embarrassment.

"Zimbabwe must be brought back to transparent national processes, majority rule and a citizens-elected leadership. No sideshows can deflect us from this core business as citizens. We must focus on the main show..the full realization of the true will of the people of Zimbabwe," he said.

Zimbabwe last year went to the polls with President Mnangagwa emerging victorious over his closest challenger Chamisa.

The polls were however widely discredited by international observers arguing that they did not meet regional and international electoral standards.

Thereafter, Zimbabwe's major election funder, the European Union withdrew its support citing the issues raised by observer missions including its own.

CCC called for a "fresh" election vowing to challenge Mnangagwa's legitimacy outside the judiciary system which they labelled biased towards the ruling party.