MDC president Nelson Chamisa said the crisis of legitimacy and governance emanating from disputed elections is the elephant in the room that should be tackled during the envisaged dialogue between his party and ZANU PF.
Speaking to NewsDay on Thursday, Chamisa pointed to elections held in the 1980s, 1990s, and in the new Millennium whose outcomes were always disputed. He said:
The problem was there between Zanu and PF Zapu, it was there between Zanu PF and ZUM (led by Edgar Tekere), it was there between (the late former President Robert) Mugabe and (the late) president (Morgan) Tsvangirai and this problem is known even by my opposite number (Mnangagwa) and that must be dealt with and anything that doesn’t resolve that is simply a delayed disappointment and we can’t move away from fundamental issues.
Chamisa made the remarks following a visit to Zimbabwe by former South African President Thabo Mbeki earlier this week.
Mbeki was in the country ostensibly on a social visit and held separate meetings with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Chamisa, smaller opposition parties, churches, and civil society organisations.