The Movement for Democratic Change reform agenda since August 2013: Challenges and opportunities

ABSTRACT

After the July 2013 Harmonised Elections in Zimbabwe, the poor performance of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai (MDC-T) - at the polls came as a shock to many. President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) emerged from the elections with a 61.09 percent of the vote against the MDC’s 34 percent. Although the MDC has attributed the loss to ZANU-PF rigging the vote, there were a number of factors within the MDC which led to the party losing its lustre and support base. This article seeks to assess the challenges that contributed to the dismal performance of the MDC in the last election, which are threatening to destroy the MDC-T. The article will further look into the opportunities that are available to the MDC for rebuilding the party and mounting a serious challenge in the 2018 elections.

INTRODUCTION

The MDC has been an important player in Zimbabwean politics since its formation in 1999. The party has also managed to threaten the stranglehold that President Robert Mugabe and the ZANU-PF have had on the country since its independence in 1980. Over the years, there have been indications that the party was growing in stature as the situation in Zimbabwe deteriorated. Expectations before the 2013 harmonised elections in Zimbabwe were that the Movement for Democratic Change would do well and might even replace the ZANU-PF as the governing party. Morgan Tsvangirai and many others in the MDC-T firmly believed that the elections provided the opportunity to finally oust President Mugabe and the ZANU-PF. By the end of the elections, however, the MDC only managed to secure a total maximum of 46 parliamentary seats out of a total number of 210 seats.[1] The poor performance of the MDC-T in these polls was particularly unexpected since the performance of the party in the Government of National Unity (GNU) had been a positive one. Although many of the positive developments that emerged during the tenure of the GNU can be credited to all the parties involved, efforts by the MDC-T’s Secretary General Tendai Biti as Finance Minister assisted in bringing some level of stability on the economy. This was mostly done through the introduction of the multi-currency system in the form of the American dollar and South African Rand. Rotberg argues that Biti was successful in banning the Zimbabwe dollar therefore ending several years of dreadful inflation that was crippling the country.[2] For those in the MDC-T, the optimism was that the improvement of the economy under Finance Minister Biti was enough to convince the voters that under an MDC-T government, things would be better.

However, as the results show, this was not enough to convince the electorate to vote for the MDC-T in their majority. This outcome could also be the result of the MDC-T proving to be its worst enemy over the years and thus playing into the hands of President Mugabe and the ZANU-PF. The participation of the MDC-T in the Government of National Unity also proved to weaken the party slightly and allowed ZANU-PF to outmanoeuvre it. Booysen argues that the MDC-T was a co-architect of its own emasculation.[3] With the outcome of the last harmonised elections in Zimbabwe, it is clear that the MDC-T has to take action in the next couple of years in order to make sure that the party does not end up in oblivion.

CONCEPTUALISING DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY IN ZIMBABWE

The situation in Zimbabwe over the years has made it difficult for the MDC-T to be fully accepted as a political player in Zimbabwean politics. Since its formation, President Mugabe, senior leaders of ZANU-PF and some sections of the media have accused the MDC-T of being funded by foreign organisations and governments to ensure the removal of Zimbabwe’s political leaders.[4] This regime change agenda has been utilised by the revolutionary party ZANU-PF to dismiss the legitimacy of the MDC-T as a genuine home-grown party and was worsened by the European Union and United States of America openly supporting the opposition party. The foreigners have also raised human rights violations concerns, an argument which has over the years been used to strengthen ZANU-PF’s claim of persecution by Britain through sanctions and the support for MDC. Furthermore, this rhetoric has been accepted and believed by other regional governments in the South African Development Community (SADC).

To make matters worse, the MDC-T has lacked a clear ideology and policies, which has alienated many Zimbabweans from supporting it. It has been difficult for the MDC-T to shake off the puppet tag, and establish itself as a home-grown institution that has the people’s interest at heart. In the run up to elections, the MDC-T launched the Jobs, Upliftment, Investment, Capital and Environment (JUICE) platform which was heavily trumpeted during the election rallies. However, the party failed to sell JUICE to the people, ultimately resulting in the loss to the ZANU-PF. It is now important for the MDC-T to assume the characteristics of a home grown institution that will be able to appeal to the masses. Recently, following the loss of their financial support by their traditional donors from the West, Tsvangirai has been calling on the party membership to contribute through subscription fees and donations. This is one way for the people to feel that they are part of an organisation and working towards bringing about change in their country.

It is also very important for the MDC-T to start identifying itself with the problems and challenges that many Zimbabweans are confronted with. Although the MDC-T has highlighted issues of land reform and indigenisation in the party’s manifesto[5] , this was not clearly emphasised to the people. This is one area that ZANU-PF ended up using to its advantage and consolidating the support of people who are desperate for land.

The MDC-T has faced serious challenges concerning its leadership for a while, which has caused damaging divisions in the past. At the moment, the party is in serious need of rebranding, either through renewal from within, or coalitions with other opposition parties and agreeing on the best candidate to lead.

CHALLENGES UNDERMINING THE MDC-T

The MDC-T faced numerous challenges in the run-up to the 2013 harmonised elections that had a direct impact on how they eventually performed. Amongst these were:

• Morgan Tsvangirai’s personal affairs
• Internal power struggles
• Corruption charges against MDC-T leaders.
• Lack of preparedness for the elections

MORGAN TSVANGIRAI’S PERSONAL AFFAIRS

The behaviour of some of the MDC-T leaders in the run-up to elections had some impact on the performance of the party in the last harmonised elections. Morgan Tsvangirai’s private life has long been used as a political tool to undermine his leadership and character. A number of incidents involving Tsvangirai’s private life have allowed President Mugabe to undermine and ridicule him amongst the electorate. Southall argues that, “Tsvangirai rendered himself particularly vulnerable to ZANU-PF by his sexual peccadilloes, exciting public ridicule and allowing Mugabe to present himself as an icon of marital faithfulness and stability”.[6] During the rallies leading up to the election, President Mugabe used that space to raise questions about the suitability of a man with such characteristics to lead the nation. Tsvangirai did not dismiss this criticism as cheap politicking, as he realised the potential damage to his political life and consequently released a written statement on the week of the 13 July 2014 apologising to his supporters.[7]

INTERNAL POWER STRUGGLES

Tsvangirai’s political opponents in the MDC-T have also cited his personal affairs as a means of undermining his leadership and having him removed as the leader of the party. Different sections in the MDC-T have been calling for the removal of Tsvangirai. He was accused of autocratic leadership, just like when the party split in 2005 with several high profile MDC members such as Professor Welshman Ncube and Arthur Mutambara accusing him of the same thing. Since 2013, senior members of the party such as Roy Bennet and former Harare Mayor Elias Mudzuri have been sending out cryptic messages about the removal of Tsvangirai as the leader of the party. The seriousness of the situation was evident when members of the Executive of the party took a decision to suspend Morgan Tsvangirai and other senior members of the party in April of 2014. This group was led by Secretary General of the MDC-T Tendai Biti.

Short of blaming Tsvangirai for the loss MDC-T suffered in the last elections, there were several other charges that were laid against him and others. The group led by Biti charged him with bringing the party into disrepute, misappropriation of party funds and violation of its constitution. This infighting in the MDC-T has had the potential of doing damage to opposition politics in Zimbabwe, and further strengthens the political hold of President Mugabe and the ZANU-PF.

Corruption charges against MDC-T leaders

But Tsvangirai has not been solely responsible for tarnishing the name of the MDC-T and presenting the ruling party with ammunition to attack and criticise it. Other leaders in the party have also contributed to the negative perceptions surrounding the party which have weakened it. The MDC-T has been consistent in its criticism of corruption by President Mugabe and some leaders of ZANU-PF. However, since the GNU, there have been many instances where its elected members have been accused of delinquencies that they accused ZANU-PF of. These leaders have been accused of being too comfortable in their roles as government officials and engaging in corruption. There were a number of local councillors in different districts of the country that were fired from their posts for engaging in corruption[7] . The damage done to the party by all these activities has been immense and played a pivotal role in the crushing loss of the MDC-T in the last elections.

LACK OF PREPAREDNESS FOR THE ELECTIONS

There has been some criticism levelled against the MDC-T for resting on their laurels during the power-sharing arrangements of the GNU. The ZANU-PF was able to re-organise since 2008 and managed to outmanoeuvre the MDC-T during the GNU by taking most of the credit for the improvements in conditions in Zimbabwe. Raftopoulos argues that, “Under the GPA, the MDC formations were always at a disadvantage against a party that continued to control the coercive arms of the state and persistently blocked key reforms in the agreement”. Furthermore, President Mugabe was insistent that the MDC-T was a party that had the interests of the West at heart and thus supporting the continuous sanctions on Zimbabwe. During the life of the GNU, the MDC-T were also guilty of lacking the ambition to establish more structures of the party especially in the rural areas of Zimbabwe where the ZANU-PF enjoys more support. By the time the elections dates were announced, it was too late to try to reach the masses, which proved to be a limitation for the MDC-T.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE MDC

The end of the GNU in 2013 provided the MDC-T with an opportunity to focus its energies on rebuilding the party in order to mount a stronger challenge in the next elections. Therefore, a lot of work has to be done in the current climate of infighting and breakaways. Last year’s elections were a clear indication that a divided and weak opposition will be incapable of removing President Mugabe and ZANU-PF from power. The smaller faction of the MDC-M under the leadership of Professor Welshman Ncube was unable to win a single seat in parliament. This is a clear indication for other breakaway factions that a divided and weak opposition will not be able to mount a serious challenge to the ZANU-PF in 2018. The unification of the party should be the priority of all the affected members because that is the only way that the party can become stronger and challenge the power of the ZANU-PF.

Moreover, the fact that the MDC is no longer part of the GNU will enable the party to be more critical and raise important concerns from outside of government. Although the MDC has been persistent in its criticism of the ZANU-PF, this was often challenging during the GNU as they were also part of government. Another obstacle was the fact that during the GNU, it became increasingly difficult to raise issues of corruption by ZANU-PF officials whilst there were MDC officers implicated as well.

This would also be a perfect opportunity for the MDC-T to work on developing stronger policies that will be beneficial to the people of Zimbabwe. In the past, the party has been accused of lacking a definite ideology, its only fixation being unseating President Mugabe and the ZANU-PF.[9] A party with a clear ideology and vision stands a better chance to win over more disgruntled Zimbabweans to support it in trying to mount a serious challenge to ZANU-PF in 2018. The MDC-T has for a long time ignored establishing structures in the rural areas of Zimbabwe, where the ZANU-PF has most support. The next few years before the next election are ideal for the leadership of the party to venture out into these areas and to establish stronger branches as part of rebranding. This would be an ideal opportunity to address issues such as indigenisation, land reforms and creation of jobs for people that are directly affected by these issues.

In the current setting, all the major parties in Zimbabwe are going through some internal conflict that threatens to disrupt and weaken them. Recently, President Mugabe criticised one of the leaders in the ZANU-PF by branding him as an agent whose mission is to sow divisions and unsettle the party. This was after the Minister of Information Jonathan Moyo appointed editors alleged to be anti-ZANU-PF to head ZimPapers, which is under the control of the government.[10] The outburst by President Mugabe clearly shows there are tensions within the ZANU-PF and these tensions are only going to increase as the succession battle heats up.

The news that President Mugabe’s wife Grace has accepted a position in the executive council of the women’s league already has everyone interested in whether she is being groomed to take up the post of president sometime in the future.[11] In the coming months and years, the succession battle in the ZANU-PF is only going to intensify and might lead to the weakening of the party. This is why it is crucial for the MDC-T to regroup and reorganise to challenge the ZANU-PF in case this becomes a reality in the future.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The current state of the MDC-T must be seriously addressed in order to prevent the party from descending into oblivion. Morgan Tsvangirai and many in the MDC-T still believe and maintain that the heavy loss in last year’s election was due to the underhand tactics of the ZANU-PF. However, whatever the cause for the loss, it exposed the delicateness of the party and the need for an evaluation of its effectiveness in Zimbabwe’s political arena. The MDC-T has long claimed to have been founded and driven by democratic values, which it has seemingly abandoned. Therefore, Morgan Tsvangirai and the rest of the leadership should look into the past in order to recreate a new path that would turn the MDC-T into a more formidable opponent in its quest to one day govern Zimbabwe. There are several recommendations that the Movement for Democratic Change can adopt in the quest to reform the party:

• The MDC-T should call for a national summit in the next 12 months whereby the issue of leadership will be resolved for the sake of stability within the party. The summit will determine whether Morgan Tsvangirai continues to lead or makes way for another individual to lead.
• The MDC splinter parties should be engaged to be part of the summit in order to form a grand coalition and to also agree on the best candidate to lead the party failing which the party will then have to renew from within.
• To establish clear ideologies and policies of the party instead of being driven by the obsession of removing President Mugabe and ZANU-PF from power.
• The MDC-T neglected most parts of rural areas of and there is a clear need for the mobilisation in these areas in order to increase the support base of the party.
• The support and donations from the west seems to be drying up and there is an urgent need for the party to find new funding methods such as membership fees in order to sustain the activities of the party leading into the next general elections in 2018.

* Ntshembo Mathye and I’m a Research Intern with the Africa Institute of South Africa division of the Human Sciences Research Council.

REFERENCES

[1] Dube, B., and Makaye, P. (2013) ‘How ZANU-PF “Won the 2013 Harmonized Elections in Zimbabwe’’. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention. Vol 2. Issue 10 [online"> available at www.ijhssi.org accessed 25.06.2014
[2] Rotberg, R.I., (2013) Zimbabwe: What Next? Anticipating An Uncertain Future. Harvard International Review [online"> available at Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost accessed 25.06.2014
[3] Booysen, S. (2014) The decline of Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai: public opinion polls posting the writing on the wall. Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa, Volume 84, pp. 53 -80 available at accessed 24.06.2014
[4] Rusakaniko, C. (2013) Barriers to Democratic Governance: The Case of Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe (1999-2013). Greener Journal of Political and Social Sciences. Vol 1(1), 9-27 [online"> available at. http://tinyurl.com/n6e6wne [accessed 15 June 2014">
[5] MDC-T, (2013) Election Manifesto 2013: A New Zimbabwe-the time is Now!
[6] Southhall, R. (2013) How and why ZANU-PF Won the 2013 Zimbabwe Elections. Strategic Review for Southern Africa, Vol 35, No 2 [online"> available at accessed 26.06.2014
[7] City Press (2014) Tale of Morgan Tsvangirai’s tempestuous love affair. Available from http://www.citypress.co.za/politics/tale-morgan-tsvangirais-tempestuous-love-affairs-2/ accessed 2014.07.14
[8] Muzondidya, J (2013) The Opposition dilemma in Zimbabwe: A Critical Review of the Politics of the Movement for Democratic Change Parties under the GPA Government Framework, 2009-2012, in Raftapolous, B, The Hard Road to Reform: The Politics of Zimbabwe’s Global Political Agreement. Harare: Weaver Press, pp 39-70
[9] Maroleng, C. 2006. Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change: Do weak systems lead to weak parties? African Secuity Review. 15.1 Institute for Security Studies [online"> available at http://tinyurl.com/lx86wpq
Accessed 27.06.2014
[10] NewsDay Editorial, 2014. Moyo attack: Mugabe offside. [Online"> available at https://www.newsday.co.zw/2014/06/09/moyo-attack-mugabe-offside/ accessed 24.07.2014
[11] Jongwe, F. (2014) Grace Mugabe joins fray for over Zim succession. Mail and Guardian [online"> available at http://mg.co.za/article/2014-07-31-grace-mugabe-joins-fray-over-zim-succession accessed 01.08.2014

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