Mutsvangwa claims Chamisa wants dialogue with ED ‘to outwit CCC rivals’

Zanu-PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa claims that opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa is seeking dialogue with President Emmerson Mnangagwa in order to “settle scores and outwit his rivals within the CCC”.

Chamisa has refused to accept the outcome of the presidential election held on the 23rd and 24th of August citing that Mnangagwa is a product of a rigged process.

The disputed election outcome has plunged the country into a political crisis with the opposition calling for fresh polls supervised by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Chamisa believes that the crisis can be resolved through credible dialogue between the two major parties.

Addressing journalists on Thursday afternoon, Mutsvangwa, however, accused Chamisa of wanting to use dialogue between him and the President to outwit his rivals.

“CCC leader Mr Chamisa was offered a platform for dialogue, an open engagement between President Mnangagwa and Chamisa with all the Zimbabwean people.

“The challenge which Chamisa is facing is that he wants to pollute that channel by using it to settle scores and outwit his rivals within CCC,” Mutsvangwa said.

“We want an open book democracy where everybody sees what is happening and leaders are brought to account.

“We don’t want conspiratorial democracy where we outwit fellow Zimbabweans who have equal standing with the electorate or with the public to realise that in the dead of the night, a deal has been cut between President Mnangagwa and Chamisa which has marginalised them.

“This is a recipe for national disunity and disaster. We don’t have those problems in Zanu PF ourselves, so we cannot then become an accomplice to what Chamisa wants to do within his own ramshackle party.”

Mutsvangwa added: “He is saying let’s put all the issues on the table, let it be transparent.

“Let MDC-T Douglas Mwonzora know, let CCC vice presidents Tendai Biti and Professor Welshman Ncube know, let Chalton Hwende know. Let everybody know what we are doing, because then there is a buy-in because these people have supporters.

“Then there is a buy-in by the public to what is going on. This is accountable democracy which is what President Mnangagwa is striving for. Chamisa wants conspiratorial democracy which President Mnangagwa will not subscribe to,” he said.

The SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) on Thursday released their final report on the Zimbabwean election. The regional leaders maintained their earlier position that some aspects of the plebiscite fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.