Political Reporter
The embattled MDC Alliance leader, Nelson Chamisa is set to announce a new party name with a new logo and constitution as he has been finally convinced to dump the MDC Alliance name.
Sources who spoke to this publication said it took much persuasion from some senior members of that party to convince Chamisa to agree to the concept of name change as he has been hesitant to do so fearing for his political life.
“He (Chamisa) is expected to reveal the name of the new party soon. He has been hesitant to do so fearing that the formation of a new party will give impetus to the likes of Tendai Biti and Job Sikhala to challenge him for the presidency. However, he has been convinced that the new party will assume the leadership structure of the MDC Alliance,” said the source.
The source revealed that a set of five possible names have been forwarded to the MDC Alliance National Standing Committee members and the lawyers to choose a suitable name that will not be contested in future.
“As it stands, there are five possible names for the new party that have been forwarded to the NSC and the party lawyers for consideration. The party is in favour of a name that will not be contested in future as is the case with the name MDC Alliance. However, Chamisa is in favour of the name Alliance for Democratic Change (ADC),”added the source.
According to the source, other possible names are the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Democratic Alliance of Zimbabwe (DAZ), Democratic Alliance (DA) and United Alliance of Democrats (UAD).
Meanwhile, yesterday Chamisa’s lawyer, Thabani Mpofu, gave a hint of the formation of a new party when he put up a Twitter poll asking his followers for their opinion about the formation of a new party or a new name.
His followers voted for a new name with others arguing that the name MDC Alliance has brought more political misery and misfortunes to Chamisa.
However, some questioned the decision of forming a new party when the next election is only two years away.
They argued that Chamisa’s hesitancy to form a new party will cost him dearly as voters will have little time to get accustomed to the new party.
