By Tichaona Sibanda
HARARE – Zanu PF will not cruise to a landslide victory against the MDC-T in the forthcoming harmonized elections, as suggested by some analysts.
Pedzisai Ruhanya, a director for the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute, said it is foolhardy for analysts to predict a victory for any particular political party, based on the voting patterns of the just ended referendum.
Speaking on SW Radio Africa’ s Hidden Story program on Wednesday, Ruhanya said the next election will be won based on what the parties will be able to offer to Zimbabweans.
‘First of all I beg to differ with assumptions that ZANU PF will win the forthcoming harmonized elections basing on the referendum voting patterns.
‘That may not be true. Nothing significant has taken place in Zimbabwe that shows Robert Mugabe has redeemed himself. Nothing has happened to show ZANU PF has redeemed and is now a reformed political party,’ said Ruhanya.
He added: ‘They continue to harass people, they continue to arrest people, they continue to be corrupt and they continue to crackdown on the civil society in Zimbabwe.’
The former journalist said he wondered how, with such a scandalous track record, the former ruling party would be able to market itself as a party for the people and one that seeks to improve the lives of Zimbabweans.
Ruhanya also discounted the theory that ZANU PF still has strongholds in rural Zimbabwe, arguing that the MDC-T has made huge inroads in the past years.
‘Look at Masvingo province. Before the 2008 elections the MDC-T had one parliamentary seat, but after the harmonized poll they won 14 seats. In Manicaland, the MDC-T had two seats before the poll but managed to win 20 out of 26.
‘Those statistics show the MDC-T has made incredible strides inside ZANU PF’s political turf. Voters are now looking at real issues and not political rhetoric, so parties should not take things for granted, they should instead sharpen their strategies and use them to mobilize people to vote,’ he said. SW Radio Africa
