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YESTERDAY we quoted political analyst Mr Teddy Ncube saying opposition political parties are not ready for harmonised elections on August 23.

“Elections are very scientific and they are prepared for. If you consult even political scientists they will tell you that you start preparing for an election 18 months before the election itself,” he said.

“It’s clearly out there that if you start preparing two months before an election then you have a problem. As it relates to preparedness, I don’t think the opposition is ready.

Elections

“I think there is a lot that we are supposed to see from the opposition that is not there, particularly now that we are two months away from the general election. For example, we should be knowing who is contesting where, who is the Presidential candidate, who is the MP and who is the Senator,” he said.

Mr Ncube makes a lot of sense. Zanu-PF finalised its candidates’ selection over two months ago with most of the prospective candidates already on the ground canvassing for votes.

The party has gone further to empower candidates who have long taken delivery of off-terrain vehicles.
As we also reported yesterday, at the Midlands Zanu-PF Convention Centre where President Mnangagwa officially opened an orientation and induction workshop for Zanu-PF aspiring candidates on Monday, one could have been forgiven for mistaking the event for an auto expo.

Zanu-PF

An over 210-strong fleet of top-of-the-range vehicles is no joke.
And while Zanu-PF pulls all the stops, opposition political parties insist they are ready to contest in the harmonised elections despite their failure to draw up a consolidated list of candidates barely three weeks before the Nomination Court sits.

MDC president Mr Douglas Mwonzora said he will be contesting for the presidency while his party will field candidates for National Assembly and council seats.

“We don’t agree with the proclamation of the date by the President because there is a pending court case relating to delimitation. However, our national executive committee on Sunday made a resolution that we are going to elections,” he said.

Zapu president Mr Sibangilizwe Nkomo said the party started campaigning for elections after holding its congress almost two years ago but is uncertain whether they will contest for all available seats, including the presidency.

“When we held our congress in 2021 that is when we started campaigning because it is said you prepare for elections four years in advance. We have covered some ground, but the time has been very short for us to prepare for polls,” he said.

Citizen Coalition for Change deputy spokesperson Gift Ostallos Siziba said his party is also ready for the harmonised elections. He said it was, however, CCC’s hope that Zec addresses anomalies that were detected during the voters’ roll inspection.

“There is a pending court case,” they say. “We are waiting for Zec to address anomalies,” and “We have not had enough time to prepare, two years after congress.”

These words do not inspire confidence. The opposition say they are ready, but they do not sound like they are ready.

Politics is serious business. Opposition political parties must understand that their votes will be equal to their investment.
We say if you are not ready, it is better to be honest.