Political Reporter

Exiled former Cabinet Minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo has laughed at the Citizens Coalition for Change’s (CCC) pre-election demands and has since labelled the demands as nothing but child’s play.

Yesterday, the CCC leader, Nelson Chamisa launched  what he called a reforms blueprint code named Pre-Election Pact on Electoral Reforms  (PREPARE) as that party’s road-map for the anticipated 2023 Harmonised General Elections.

However, Professor Moyo mocked the seven electoral demands and urged Chamisa and his party to be more serious if they wanted to be a real political alternative in the country.

“If these wholly seven and imprecise CCC demands of so-called electoral reforms are not mahumbwe chaiwo, then nothing is,” said Prof Moyo.

Prof Moyo added that if CCC was genuine about electoral reforms, they should have pushed for them soon after the 2018 elections instead of doing so a few months before the next elections.

“As electoral reform experiences around Africa show, serious opposition political players seek meaningful electoral reforms the day after the last election when they have five years to spare; and not the day before the next election, when they have squandered five years!

“Seeking electoral reforms, when after participating in the last election, you hibernate; say and do nothing about election reforms only to wake up on the eve of the next election with cacophonic calls for electoral reforms; smacks of political cynicism and gross incompetence,” added Prof Moyo.

Political analyst, Shongedzai Mugwagwa said that some of Chamisa’s demands were already enshrined in the country’s Constitution and it lacks logic for Chamisa do demand something that is already being practised.

“How can Chamisa demand that people should be allowed to vote? Since 1980, Zimbabweans have been exercising their right to vote. I think on this one, Chamisa failed to put much thought on it,” said Mugwagwa.

Mugwagwa added that the CCC demands were not new as they have already been implemented or were in the process of being implemented by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

Meanwhile, there are reports that CCC bigwigs from the Matebeleland region snubbed Chamisa’s presser yesterday despite being invited to the event. Notable absentees were Thabitha Khumalo and Welshman Ncube.