ZANU PF has expressed worry over the MDC Alliance’s incursion into the country’s rural areas, saying this increases the Nelson Chamisa-led party’s prospects of winning the presidential vote.
According to the ZANU PF central committee report by the security department adopted at the just-ended 19th national people’s conference held in Bindura, the ruling party sees the MDC Alliance as making progress in attracting the crucial rural vote. The report reads in part:
The opposition is encouraging its members to go to rural areas and form polling centre-based structures similar to [the] Zanu PF Dandemutande strategy.
This is meant to penetrate the ruling party’s rural areas, they will manage to mobilise substantial support from the rural areas, and this will brighten their chances of winning the presidential vote.
That being the case, it is prudent for ZANU PF to defend its political space by ensuring that it rejuvenates its rural structures and maintains regular interactive programmes with its members.
Chamisa has in recent weeks toured rural constituencies in Masvingo, Manicaland and Mashonaland West provinces where he has been attracting huge crowds at unscheduled stop-overs.
ZANU PF has responded by organising its supporters to try and violently stop the MDC Alliance’s programmes.