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(HERALD ZW) West pressures MDC-T on elections

West pressures MDC-T on elections
Sunday, 14 October 2012 00:31
Sunday Mail Reporters

Some embassies in Harare aligned to the European Union (EU) have over the past few weeks been summoning the top leadership of the MDC-T to formulate election strategiesahead of the forthcoming polls, it has emerged.

This move has once against exposed the MDC-T’s Western parentage, with reports saying the Western-sponsored party is inadequately prepared for the impending elec­tions that President Mugabe has said will be held in March next year.

Impeccable sources within the faction-riddled party told The Sunday Mail last week that some embassies in Harare aligned to the EU have been sum­moning the MDC-T hierarchy to formulate election plans.

Despite reservations by the MDC-T that the politi­cal playing field was uneven for a general election, senior members of the party were a fortnight ago sum­moned by British Ambassador Deborah Bronnert who reportedly told them she was not happy with the party’s preparations for elections.

The MDC-T’s foreign backers, who include the United States, Germany and Nordic countries, have also threat­ened to withdraw aid if the party “does not shape up” and adopt an election strategy that they have laid on the table.

Zanu-PF and the MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube have since blasted the move by Western embassies, saying it is “divisive and immoral”.

The sources revealed that Mrs Bronnert gave the MDC-T top hierarchy a tongue-lashing, accusing them of failing to prepare for the forthcoming polls.

“The British Ambassador summoned the MDC-T top hierarchy and fervently expressed her disappointment with the party ahead of the elections. Britain is very angry that the party has not managed to keep the faith and trust of its sponsors and it wants a strong say on the election strategy that the party adopts,” the sources said.

The sources revealed that the British Ambassador par­ticularly grilled MDC-T Women’s Assembly chairperson and National Council member Mrs Theresa Makone over the party’s affairs.

“Theresa Makone was the last to be summoned to the meetings and she was particularly grilled. This is not sur­prising, given that she is one of the ministers who are close to (Mr Morgan) Tsvangirai so she was basically given a full lecture to take to her leader,” the source revealed.

Efforts to get a comment from Ms Bronnert were fruit­less last week as she had reportedly travelled to her home country on business.

Questions sent to her offices on Thursday had not been responded to by the time of going to press.

MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora said he was not aware of the meetings.

“I am not privy to any of those meetings at all,” he said.

EU head of delegation to Zimbabwe Ambassador Aldo Dell’Ariccia said the EU stance does not favour any polit­ical party.

“The EU does not favour any party over any other. We will work with any government formed as the result of a credible electoral process. The EU is not supporting any political party. Since February 2010 we have further broadened the scope of our co-operation to include sup­port to GPA reforms and we have been doing so, for instance, in supporting the Copac process,” he said.

However the sources revealed that the MDC-T’s West­ern handlers are riled that the party will lose the forth­coming elections if it “does not step to the plate”.

“The consensus between Britain, America, Germany and the Nordic countries is that the MDC-T will lose the forthcoming elections if they do not change their way of doing things. They want to see changes that will redefine the party come elections,” the sources said.

Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo said the clandestine meetings between the MDC-T and the West­ern countries were nothing new.

He said it was surprising that the MDC-T is “not reforming”, yet is had been at the forefront of calling for reforms ahead of the elections.

“This is nothing new to us. People are always talking about reforms, but they do not want to reform them­selves,” said Cde Gumbo.

MDC spokesperson Mr Kurauone Chihwayi said Western nations are being divisive by siding with a politi­cal party.

He said the West held “the warped view that only the MDC-T is the democratic party in Zimbabwe”.

“These nations have always been meddling in our internal political affairs and they are divisive. Why is it that they are choosing to engage with one political party? If they have Zimbabwe’s interests at heart, as they want us to believe, they are supposed to involve every party and not one party. The Western countries have got a problem because they believe Tsvangirai is the only person who can deliver democracy to Zimbabwe. They are basically leaving the playing field unfair ahead of the elections,” he said.

Political commentator Dr Lawton Hikwa said former US Ambassador Christopher Dell had exposed the United States stance of giving election strategies to the MDC-T.

“This has become something that it synonymous with the MDC-T and Ambassador Dell once revealed that he was giving election strategies to the party,” he said.

Labels: 2013 ELECTIONS (ZIMBABWE), DEBORAH BRONNERT, MDC, MDC TREASON, THERESA MAKONE

posted by MrK @ 10:08 PM