Chamisa tells disgruntled CCC members who did not get positions to form their own party

TAKUDZWA HILLARY CHIWANZA 

Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), a Zimbabwean opposition party, told party members who were unhappy with his leadership style and the lack of positions to form their own party, calling them career politicians.

Form your own party ... Chamisa told unhappy party members

Chamisa was speaking at a meeting with CCC Mashonaland East provincial members at Mbuya Nehanda Hall in Marondera on Wednesday, as part of his nationwide tour to receive reports on the August 23, 2023 harmonised elections.

"Those who want positions, let me say, form your own party. No one is ever going to form a party stronger than this (CCC)," he said.

Chamisa, a former ICT minister, claimed that his party defeated the ruling ZANU PF in the presidential election, despite the official results by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) showing that he lost to President Emmerson Mnangagwa by 52.6% to 44%.

He said that his party faced an uneven playing field, as ZANU PF had the support of state institutions such as ZEC and the army, as well as traditional leaders and a foreign consultancy firm called Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ).

"It was not easy to defeat Zanu PF, they had state institutions support like Zec and army. 

"There was FAZ and they had traditional leaders as the party commissars. The good thing is that, with all that, we won the election," he said.

Chamisa has been accused of sidelining senior and experienced members of his party in favour of young activists. 

He has also been criticised for his lack of creating clear party structures and holding an elective congress.

However, Chamisa dismissed these concerns, saying that he was not in a hurry to hold a congress and that his party was an organised citizens' movement.

"We are not moved about the congress issue, we are not in a rush. We are aware that they think CCC is a structure-less party. 

"If we are a structure-less party, how did we elect mayors, councillors and MPs? If you go to Goromonzi or South Africa, you will see leaders there," he said.

He also said that he was not worried about the lack of intervention from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in resolving the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

"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 guided by the citizens. If SADC does not intervene, God will do," he said.