Nelson Chamisa, leader of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), has advised party members who were not given positions they wanted to form their own party, NewsDay reported.
Chamisa made the remarks while addressing CCC Mashonaland East provincial members at Mbuya Nehanda Hall in Marondera on Wednesday. The former ICT minister who is currently on a nationwide tour meeting provincial executives, receiving reports on the just-ended harmonised elections, is quoted as saying:
Those who want positions, let me say, form your own party. No one is ever going to form a party stronger than this (CCC).
Leading a nation is not about studying books, it is about studying the hearts of the citizens. We are not here for opportunists.
We are an organised citizens’ movement. We are guided by the citizens. If you had a post in the MDC, it has nothing to do with the current set-up.
Chamisa has been accused of sidelining party senior members in favour of young activists.
Nelson Chamisa expressed his lack of concern regarding the holding of an elective congress for the party. He stated that they were not in a rush and dismissed claims that the CCC lacked structures, pointing to the election of mayors, councillors, and MPs. Chamisa emphasized the presence of leaders in places like Goromonzi and South Africa as evidence of the party’s structure.
Chamisa, who according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) garnered 44% of the presidential votes against Mnangagwa’s 52.6%, maintained that the CCC defeated ZANU PF in the 23 August 2023 harmonised elections. He said:
It was not easy to defeat Zanu PF, they had State institutions support like Zec and army. There was FAZ (Forever Associates Zimbabwe) and they had traditional leaders as the party commissars. The good thing is that, with all that, we won the election.
The SADC Election Observer Mission report stated that Zimbabwe’s elections did not meet the required standards and were not considered free, credible, and fair. Despite this, Chamisa assured delegates that even if SADC does not intervene, he believes that God will intervene in the situation.