Political Reporter
The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader, Nelson Chamisa, has made a U-turn as he has admitted that political dialogue is needed in order for the country to develop.
Chamisa made this claim while addressing the media giving his assessment of the just ended by-elections.
“We need to have a political dialogue in the country. There are key parties that have a majority show and you know that ZANU PF is one of the key players from a historical perspective and also from a political reality,” said Chamisa.
Chamisa’s plea for dialogue was a major climb down as he spurned several calls for dialogue insisting that he was the only one with a political answer to the challenges bedevilling the country.
Political analyst, Terrence Chipwanya, said the call for dialogue by Chamisa was a welcome development provided that the CCC leader swallows his pride and acknowledges the presidency of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“Dialogue is a noble initiative, but Chamisa should first swallow his pride and acknowledge that President Mnangagwa is the undisputed winner of the 2018 presidential elections. Chamisa should also be prepared to come to the negotiating table without setting conditions. If he swallows his pride, I don’t think President Mnangagwa will refuse to have a political chat with him,” said Chipwanya.
Chipwanya added that Chamisa’s call for dialogue should not end as a political rhetoric, but he must show signs that he surely wants dialogue.
“He (Chamisa) is the only one outside POLAD. So if he surely needs a dialogue, he should write to the POLAD secretariat requesting to be accommodated. I don’t think the POLAD principals will refuse him a chance to come to the table. But the problem might arise if he wants to create his own platform for dialogue,” said Chipwanya.
In 2018, soon after the harmonised elections, President Mnangagwa initiated the setting up of the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD), a platform for political players to discuss issues of national interests. However, Chamisa snubbed POLAD opting to continue on the side-lines of the country’s political dialogue.
