Plans to form a regional alliance for Matabeleland have collapsed after the leaders of the parties failed to agree on a number of issues. The parties failed to agree on the alliance’s name although there are reports that Thokozani Khupe’s MDC-T wanted the coalition to run under the MDDC-T name. The parties which were involved in the talks are:
- Thokozani Khupe’s MDC-T faction
- Dumiso Dabengwa’s Zapu
- Mqondisi Moyo’s Mthwakazi Republic Party
- Lovemore Moyo’s United Movement for Devolution (UMD)
- Moses Mzila Ndlovu’s Alliance for National Salvation (Ansa)
Speaking on the talks Lovemore Moyo said,
We have been discussing as various political parties, in particular parties that are led by people from this region. We have been hoping to find each other and possibly find ways of co-operation, collaborating as we go for elections, but the talks have collapsed, for now.
MRP leader Mqondisi Moyo said,
We have been having these meetings to try and build a regional alliance to defend the Matabeleland political space, but the talks never came to fruition because Khupe and Zapu said they were national parties, and hence difficult for them to sign a regional alliance agreement.
More: NewsDay