The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is under pressure from its youth wing to rescind its decision to boycott Zimbabwe’s parliamentary elections scheduled for March next year.
”We will be giving the dictatorship a blank cheque to run Zimbabwe the way they like for the next five years. I need somebody with an alternative answer to convince me there is another route we can take besides through the electoral process,” said former student leader and MDC MP Job Sikhala.
”It’s an excruciating decision for the party to make. There are strong views either way. The party is probably split 50/50 on participating, but we don’t vote on these matters, we go along by consensus,” said MDC spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi.
The MDC’s national executive committee will retreat to the Mazvikadei Camp, 45km west of Harare, on Saturday, after spending much of the week consulting provincial structures and canvassing their members’ views.
Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders have also weighed in with advice.
”There have not just been meetings, but phone calls; particularly President Thabo Mbeki has been exerting pressure on [MDC leader] Morgan Tsvangirai,” said Nyathi.
”Mbeki feels if we participate, it gives them some kind of leverage to say Mugabe is failing to level the playing field. Mbeki is afraid of chaos in Zimbabwe and that if we don’t participate it will prolong the political chaos. But I’m not sure if the same regional pressure was being applied on Mugabe to play ball.”
President Robert Mugabe is on record as saying that his Zanu-PF party will claim all 120 seats if the opposition does not field candidates. The MDC is in a quandary over other opposition parties’ reluctance to call Mugabe’s bluff and pull out of the race.
”We are not sure of other parties’ commitment to boycott,” Nyathi said. ”If the MDC boycotts and other parties do not, Mugabe will claim there was a legitimate voting process involving other parties.”
But there are dangers in taking part, said University of Zimbabwe political scientist Alois Masepe: ”The MDC came on the platform of change and if that change doesn’t happen, you risk becoming irrelevant. People become disillusioned if you participate and still can’t change the repressive laws. Some of the repressive laws were passed while the MDC was in Parliament. They were part of the system. People want to see the difference but the difference is not there.”
Hundreds of MDC supporters have been killed in violence since the 2000 parliamentary polls and at least half of its 57 legislators have been arrested under the controversial public order laws.
Masepe is of the view that the MDC should change its approach.
”You have to become revolutionary. You start by saying you want to dismantle the status quo. You can tell the people about the strategy of fighting from within and articulating the dangers of opting out.
”Mugabe has been in power because people opted out. Zimbabweans deserve the government they have. They are adjusting to dictatorship; they are making it normal because they are not doing anything serious about it.”
The MDC is expected to make the outcome of its weekend deliberations known on Monday.