Mwonzora feels let down by fellow leaders on delimitation court challenge

MDC Alliance leader Douglas Mwonzora says he feels let down by fellow opposition leaders and parties after he filed a court application seeking the nullification of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s (ZEC) delimitation report.

Mwonzora, on Tuesday, filed an application at the Constitutional Court challenging the delimitation report that was gazetted by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on the 20th of February 2023.

Justifying his challenge, Mwonzora said: “I challenged this report the moment it was gazetted because it now forms the basis of the coming election,” he said.

“The timing of challenging the delimitation report was not mine; the timing was of those people who then gazetted this so that it became the basis of an election.”

Mwonzora was, however, blasted on social media largely by other opposition members who accused him of trying to use the delimitation challenge to push for the delay of elections. They accused him of being sent by Zanu-PF.

But he dismissed this saying it was his right to make that challenge. Mwonzora further questioned why other opposition parties were failing to support him in challenging the legality of the report.

“I am challenging the delimitation report because I have the right to challenge this and I am the leader of the opposition in Parliament; secondly I am the president of the MDC which is interested in this matter,” Mwonzora said.

“I am a constitution maker, I am a human rights person and I feel someone should lead the way and I have chosen to lead the way.

“Everybody agrees that the delimitation report is wrong, including the people across all political divides who were in Parliament when this report was brought up.

“They agreed that the report was wrong; the question was, what do you do with a wrong report as a responsible leader of the opposition.

“Do you fold your hands? Do you say let’s go for elections? We are fighting this travesty, we are putting it to the court to have it nullified such that Zimbabweans have a better election.”

He continued; “Now, the accusations that it is colluding with Zanu PF is a stupid one, because I have challenged Zanu PF before. Why was it okay when I challenged the Political Parties Finances Act.?

“Why should it be wrong to fight a delimitation report that is bad? If your leaders do nothing about a situation, don’t blame those leaders who do something about it.”