Chamisa says – ‘I’m ready to lead, picked lessons from Mugabe and Tsvangirai’

Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa said he is ready to be the next President of Zimbabwe citing that he drew lessons from late former leaders Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mugabe and Tsvangirai led one of the sharpest political rivalries in Zimbabwe for close to two decades. The former was removed from power through a military coup in November 2017 by his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Tsvangirai, the founding leader of opposition MDC died in February 2018 from cancer. Mugabe died in 2019 while in a Hospital in Singapore.

Chamisa who formed a new party in January this year after name and ownership crisis in the MDC, said he is ready to beat Mnangagwa in the 2023 presidential election.

Addressing a Beitbridge rally on Sunday ahead of March 26 by-elections, Chamisa said that Zanu-PF elders in the top offices should be ready to surrender power to the young to fix the country’s socio-economic situation.

“I’m ready to lead. Tsvangirai taught me a lot. There were also lessons from Mugabe. I picked the good and left the ugly,” he said.

“I already have a clear strategy on what needs to be done to fix this country.

“Those in Zanu-PF who’ve been in government for over 40 years should accept that they’ve had their time. They can’t keep asking for more time. Ask them what will they do which they haven’t had time to achieve.”

The 2023 plebiscite is going to be the second time Chamisa and Mnangagwa will be facing each other. The former controversially lost to the latter with a small margin.

Chamisa did not accept the results even after the Constitutional Court endorsed them. One of the factors that observers said led to opposition losing was the lack of election agents in more than 500 polling stations.

But Chamisa told his supporters, “We are fully focused on all loopholes that were used against us last time.

“We observed that they rigged in 2018, in those areas we didn’t have polling agents. This time around we will only leave the polling stations on our way to State House, mukomana apinda.

“Zanu-PF should know that we won’t tire, in our quest for change. Tsvangirai handed me the mantel and instructed that we carry forward, with my team. Tsvangirai should rest well, knowing the fight is still on and we are finishing it off.” Nehanda Radio