Staff Reporter
CCC members are having diverging views over the swearing-in of Members of the 10th Parliament of Zimbabwe which is set to take place tomorrow.
In a discussion held in a WhatsApp group, CCC Power Up, some CCC members urged that party’s legislators to boycott the swearing in of Members of Parliament, in solidarity with the #Fresh Elections campaign. They claimed that if CCC legislators agree to be sworn in, they would have endorsed the just ended election and discredit that party’s efforts to fight for fresh, free and fair elections. They furthered that those CCC legislators who won in the just ended election had the potential of gaining more votes under a free and fair environment. They claimed that CCC leader, Nelson Chamisa, had already won half the battle because he had the masses.
However, other CCC members gave a different opinion and urged that party to accept defeat and map way forward for a congress and the next election. They noted that most CCC candidates funded their own campaigns and did not receive any funding from their party; therefore they felt that they would have done injustice to the efforts they exerted to win their seats. They added that these candidates had already exhausted their resources, and neither could they mobilize more to fund massive campaigns. CCC members opined that party could run the risk of losing more votes in the election re-run and therefore advised same to attend tomorrow`s inauguration.
Meanwhile, commenting on the possibility of fresh election in the country in an interview with Daily Maverick, on 04 September 2023, Harare Lawyer, Chris Mhike, said, “Mass resignation in Zimbabwe by office holders in local and national government and by legislators, coupled with the dissolution of Parliament by the President, this could pave way for fresh elections.”
The diverging views from CCC members on that party’s calls to boycott the swearing-in of Members of Parliament slated for tomorrow signals potential dissension that could be manipulated to cause further divisions within that party. CCC candidates, among other members, are generally sceptical about the boycotting parliament. CCC candidates attributed that party’s loss to lack of funding. They observed that in the event of an election re-run, ZANU PF could potentially double its resources; hence CCC could lose more votes. In that regard, the suggestion to boycott the swearing in of parliamentarians might fail to have a buy in from some CCC legislators who are determined to secure their seats.
Zimbabwe held its Harmonised General Elections on 28 August 2023. President Emmerson Mnangagwa won convincingly with 52.6 percent while the leading opposition party trailed with 44 percent.
