Political Reporter
MDC-T leader, Douglas Mwonzora, said that the rival MDC Alliance should not underrate him as he was strategically and intellectually better than his rival Nelson Chamisa.
Addressing party members in Marondera over the weekend, Mwonzora said that the MDC- T would not be deterred by the noise coming from the MDC Alliance’s camp as the party will silence its critics in 2023.
Without mentioning names, but in apparent reference to Chamisa, Mwonzora said he was confident that he would fare better in 2023 polls than the MDC Alliance leader.
“This boy (Chamisa) will be shocked in 2023. He will realise that the MDC-T is a juggernaut party that cannot be underrated. We will show him that being an empty vessel is not enough to win elections,” said Mwonzora.
Mwonzora added that the MDC-T’s politics was that of tolerance, cooperation and nation building as opposed to that of MDC Alliance which only focused on violence and politics of vengeance.
The MDC T leader added that those who viewed him as politically inept will be shocked after the announcement of the 2023 elections. He added that he would not be afraid of a man he defeated several times during MDC internal elections.
“He (Chamisa) failed to defeat me in several internal elections. What has he done now to think that he can defeat me at national level?” queried Mwonzora.
Mwonzora told his supporters that the weekend meeting was meant to consult them on whether they should go ahead and engage with President Emmerson Mnangagwa over coalescing for a Government of National Unity (GNU).
“We came here to get your views concerning the national dialogue we are planning to have with (President) Mnangagwa. However, from our nationwide tours, it was clear that our members are in support of a national dialogue. We don’t know the results of that dialogue. However, its conclusion should be in the best interests of the people,” said Mwonzora.
Since 2018, Chamisa has refused to join the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD), suggesting that the dialogue should be held on his terms. However, the majority of 2018 presidential contestants have joined POLAD and Mwonzora has shown interest in joining the platform.
