CCC leader Nelson Chamisa has denied claims that he is engaged in talks with President Emmerson Mnangagwa to form a government of national unity (GNU).
Last week President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba claimed that Chamisa was behind the proposal by the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) to suspend elections for seven years and pave the way for the formation of a coalition government.
But speaking to reporters on Sunday on the sidelines of the Workers Day celebrations, which were held in Dzivarasekwa in Harare, Chamisa said:
I am not engaged with Mnangagwa on any dialogue regarding a government structure. The only dialogue and pact I have called for is the pre-election pact that must be done.
I also disagreed with the proposal by the churches to have a sabbatical on elections and said we only need a sabbatical on election violence.
CCC deputy spokesperson Gift Siziba on Monday, 2 May told NewsDay that Chamisa was open to dialogue with Mnangagwa, but on electoral reforms, and not to form a GNU. Said Siziba:
We need a national dialogue with political parties on the pre-election pact and electoral reforms so that we put an end to the cycle of contested elections.
We don’t want violence in the next elections, and we don’t need the abuse of State institutions at all.
We don’t want a political dialogue to share power, we want dialogue with all political parties, and ZANU PF being our major opponent, on electoral reforms.
Chamisa has never refused to dialogue with all political parties on electoral reforms.
Political analyst Maxwell Saungweme also told NewsDay that Chamisa and Mnangagwa need to talk to each other for the sake of the nation’s progress. He said:
The socio-economic and political challenges facing the country cannot be unlocked by political science.
After every war, people engage in dialogue. Even after independence, we engaged in dialogue. Zimbabwe needs dialogue.
If President Mnangagwa and Chamisa care about Zimbabwe, they should be able to talk to each other.
I don’t find any wisdom in one saying they don’t want to talk to the other, even for the electoral reforms, there is a need for dialogue. After all, we are all Zimbabweans.
Another political analyst Sydicks Muradzikwa said without dialogue between Chamisa and Mnangagwa, the country will not move forward. Said Muradzikwa:
Chamisa is not refusing to engage in dialogue, but he is refusing the terms of reference for the dialogue.
He is simply saying that President Mnangagwa is part of the problem and cannot be part of the solution, and cannot be the convenor of the dialogue.
That is the major reason he is refusing to talk to Mnangagwa. If there is no dialogue, we are going to continue to see the same problems.