By Wezhira Munya
The MDC, led by Douglas Mwonzora, suffered a major setback yesterday after senior members from Masvingo Urban joined the Citizens Coalition for Change [CCC] party.
Fearless Mr. Murangamwa Chanyau, who was the MDC Masvingo vice chairperson, Mr. Tamburike, Amai Viola, and 34 other MDC members joined the CCC party yesterday.
See attached picture of Mr. Chanyau, Mr. Chigaba, and Mr. Mapope at the CCC Masvingo Urban rally yesterday.
The 36 former MDC members were recruited to the CCC party by former MDC Masvingo Provincial Administrator Mr. Peter Chigaba.
Mr. Chigaba joined CCC earlier this year. He [Mr. Chigaba] was a security aide for former MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai.
Additionally, Mr. Chanyau served in MDC under Presidents Tsvangirai and Chamisa as Masvingo Urban Chairperson, Chief Election Agent for the Masvingo Urban Member of Parliament, among many other top posts from 2000 to 2019.
Mr. Chanyau is currently an elected representative of MDC in the Masvingo Provincial Council since 2018.
He [Mr. Chanyau] said, “I have made a conscious decision to join the CCC party led by President Chamisa. I am going to campaign for him and the CCC party. This is the party that has the capacity to dislodge Zanu PF.”
Under the chairmanship of Chanyau, MDC led by President Chamisa, in 2018, Masvingo Urban managed to win 7 out of 10 council seats and the Masvingo Urban parliamentary seat.
Therefore, by joining CCC at this juncture, eight days before the elections, Mr. Chanyau will also contribute to CCC’s victory.
In another story, Masvingo Urban MDC aspiring council and parliamentary candidates are furious that Mwonzora is not helping them to campaign.
Mwonzora has only managed to field one parliamentary candidate out of the 26 constituencies in Masvingo province. Additionally, he has managed to field only 9 council candidates in Masvingo Province out of over 500 wards.
An MDC Masvingo aspiring councillor, who refused to be named for fear of victimization, said, “Mwonzora has betrayed us by not campaigning for us as his candidates. I am disappointed by Mwonzora’s incompetence.”
Another MDC Masvingo aspiring councillor, who also refused to be named, said, “Mwonzora is not financially supporting us. We are supporting our door-to-door campaigns. Our posters are on poor-quality paper and they are on A4 paper.”
Masvingo MDC aspiring Member of Parliament Mr. Bonface Mazarire paid $1000 USD for ZEC nomination fees from his own pocket, according to an MDC aspiring councillor.
The majority of MDC aspiring candidates in Masvingo Urban are bitter that Mwonzora withdrew his presidential candidature at the 11th hour.
They [Masvingo Urban candidates] are questioning why Mwonzora withdrew his candidature in support of the “dead” 87 MDC aspiring parliamentary candidates who failed to pay nomination fees. Why not support the “living” MDC’s 24 parliamentary candidates and councillors who successfully submitted their papers to ZEC?
The majority of MDC Masvingo Urban councillors and members of parliament have a strong view that they will receive zero votes, judging by the 2022 by-election results, according to an MDC aspiring council candidate.
Mwonzora and MDC are no longer sellable to the electorate.
There are growing voices within MDC structures for Mwonzora to graciously step down from the MDC presidency, according to a senior MDC National Council member who refused to be named for fear of victimization.
