MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora has insisted that his party – currently undergoing a restructuring exercise and set to spend at least $100 million towards the 2023 elections – will form the country’s next government.
Despite a heavy defeat in the recent by-election, Mwonzora is confident that his party will make it in the upcoming presidential elections.
In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com in Kwekwe on Wednesday, Mwonzora said the defeat was a lesson to his party and it would improve.
“The 2023 elections are coming on well; as a party, we have been affected by divisions and we are currently restructuring our party,” he said.
“We are at 65% through with this very important exercise. We are confident that we are going to form the next government. We are going to have an extraordinary congress, maybe at the end of September,” he said.
“This elective congress has been long overdue since 2014. There is only one elected person during the congress in the party’s executive, and that is the president. The rest of the leadership has not been elected in recent years.
“Every position is going to be up for grabs. We are going to open the positions so that anyone who wishes to contest will do so.”
Mwonzora said his party will start its election mobilisation exercise after the congress.
“After the extraordinary congress we are starting to mobilise. We want to change our political narrative in the country, hence our thrust on politics of rational disputation. We no longer want to have violent polls. Elections time for Zimbabweans is an opportunity to say what they want through the ballot. In addition, we will also speak to issues of electoral reforms,” he said.
Mwonzora confirmed his party is going to field candidates in all constituencies and wards across the country.
“We are fundraising for the party. We want to raise $100 million for the elections,” he said.
Turning to by-elections where the MDC-T performed dismally, Mwonzora said; “The by-elections are a bygone, though we learnt something from the by-elections.
“We learnt something about our structures. We realised that in some places we thought we had structures we didn’t have. We did learn that we need to strengthen our structures. Otherwise these by elections are difficult to learn anything from.
“It was the most apathetic by-election in recorded history. There is a gentleman in Tsholotsho who had 27 votes and is currently a councillor. It was one of the numerically useless elections we ever had. – Newzim
