Self exiled former cabinet minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo yesterday accused opposition Citizens Coalition for Change leader, Nelson Chamisa of lacking the ambition to call for reforms saying he should not have waited for four years to advocate for them.
This comes as the CCC party launched its electoral reform blueprint dubbed PREPARE which the movement said will focus on the creation of a conducive environment for the holding of free and fair elections.
Launching the seven electoral reform demands in Harare on Thursday, Chamisa said the PREPARE which stands for Pre-election Pact on Electoral Reforms, will be a politically negotiated process that is non-partisan.
“This document we are launching today is our humble submission to the ongoing discourse on what needs to be corrected to conduce the environment for elections in our country. The liberation struggle which is our struggle was a collective quest to create a nation that is founded upon the people’s sovereignty and the time-tested principle of one man one vote our forbearers, mothers and fathers sacrificed life to birth this wonderful and great nation where the right of every citizen the right to vote and self-determination is guaranteed,” he said.
However, Professor Moyo said Chamisa left it late as he had ample time since the 2018 elections to call for the reforms.
He said the opposition leader now has limited time to effectively call the government to order.
“As electoral reform experiences around Africa show, serious opposition political players seek meaningful electoral reforms the day after the last election when they have five years to spare; and not the day before the next election, when they have squandered five years!
“Seeking electoral reforms when, after participating in the last election, you hibernate; say and do nothing about election reforms only to wake up on the eve of the next election with cacophonic calls for electoral reforms; smacks of political cynicism and gross incompetence!” Moyo said.
He noted that calls for electoral reforms should not be a desperate substitute for an election manifesto based on sound values, ideology, constitution and policy alternatives pursued by a political structure with a demonstrable capacity to govern and improve people’s lives and livelihoods!
Chamisa has however admitted that the fight for electoral reforms will not be easy because of the fact that Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), Parliament of Zimbabwe and the judiciary all fall under one parent Ministry.
“Chambers of justice must be de-contaminated and be pure in dispensing justice to all the citizens, to inspire confidence among the citizens because their authority is actually derived authority from us the citizens so it’s something that is achievable and it will part of the political process.
“This is not a partisan thing, it’s not a CCC thing but it’s a national issue, elections are not a party affair we are not talking about primary or internal elections we are talking about national elections so it’s not about political parties but it’s about all of us as stakeholders coming together to find a common way forward, it’s not an easy fight but it’s a fight that has to be won,” he said.
