A former senior Zanu PF Youth League member, who has formed his own party, is promising fireworks in the 2023 harmonized elections saying he will use his knowledge harnessed from the ruling party to beat President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s party in council, parliamentary and presidential polls.
In an interview on VOA Zimbabwe’s prime show, Livetalk, Godfrey Tsenengamu, leader of the Front for Economic Emancipation in Zimbabwe (FEEZ), said his team is rolling out campaigns in rural and urban centers to win the hearts of Zimbabweans ahead of the crucial elections.
“I know how Zanu PF was conducting its election campaigns. We have a lot of knowledge about their operations and we will use that to our advantage. We will prove that we are a formidable force in the next elections,” said Tsenengamu.
He claimed that his party is attracting a lot of young disgruntled supporters of the ruling party and the country’s biggest opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa.
“We have managed to attract people from Zanu PF, the MDC Alliance and other parties. There are some new voters too who are joining us. So, we will surprise a lot of people in the 2023 elections. We have students, miners, general workers and other people too. We are reaching everyone, including vendors who want a fresh start for Zimbabwe,” said Tsenengamu, who refused to disclose his party’s membership.
He said, “People are tired of the two big political parties. We are going to take them on in the next elections.”
The former Zanu PF Youth League political commissar criticized people who are claiming that he may be an appendage of Zanu PF.
“We are not being sponsored by anyone. We depend on our general membership for implementing our programs. We are not like the late Prime Minister of Zimbabwe/Rhodesia Bishop Abel Muzorewa who campaigned using three helicopters. He was well-funded. He had a well-oiled machine but he lost in 1980. People chose to vote for Zanu and Zapu but not Muzorewa because his mission was a lost cause.
“People accepted freebies from him but did not vote for him. To say Zanu PF has money and other issues, that’s something else. We don’t have all this. We are going to dribble them somehow and beat them. We have people on the ground campaigning for us. From the time we announced in August that we are forming a new party, the response has been overwhelming.”
There are currently 108 political parties in Zimbabwe. At least 100 participated in council and parliamentary elections in 2018 while 22 fielded presidential candidates.