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So, MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai says he will not accept the results of the 2018 harmonised elections if he loses to President Mugabe and Zanu-PF?

We are not surprised by such utterances from Mr Tsvangirai, he has made such threats in the past to an extent that it has become his song every time we approach crucial national elections.

Well, for those who missed it, Mr Tsvangirai told workers at Dzivarasekwa Stadium on Monday at a function to mark Workers Day that, “We will not accept any outcome which is not victory for the opposition, ndakuita hwaTrump manje. Trump said he will not accept the result if he does not come victorious.”

While the utterances are not new, they are very much regrettable, especially coming from a party which taunts itself as the biggest opposition ever to emerge out of Zimbabwe since the collapse of Rhodesian hegemony in 1980.

On Saturday, Mr Tsvangirai’s deputy in the MDC-T Ms Thokozani Khupe issued similar threats while speaking in London.

Addressing MDC-T supporters in the British capital, Ms Khupe said the MDC-T had Plan B in the event of a loss in next year’s elections, adding, “I can’t divulge details here, but I can assure you that Mugabe will not steal the vote again”.

The combined meaning of these reckless utterances is quite telling, especially when it is known that the MDC-T has lost to Zanu-PF in each and every election it has contested since its formation in 1999.

The MDC-T is certain that it will lose to Zanu-PF in 2018 and is already preparing for the loss. What hurts the British sponsored party most is the thought of a loss to a Zanu-PF it has been telling its supporters is at its weakest.

It is clear that when Mr Tsvangirai talks of refusing to accept the results, he is simply saying he will seek to substitute mass mobilisation with mass chaos. Zimbabweans are mature enough to understand that the Plan B, the MDC-T is touting entails violence.

In fact, Mr Tsvangirai let the cat out of the bag when he told the Dzivarasekwa gathering that: “In 2018 they have to be no other option, but change. Option ingatoita ndeye kufa”.

His statement that he would be left with no option, but to die if he lost the elections clearly demonstrates how desperate Mr Tsvangirai is to come to power by any means. Zimbabwe has religiously held democratic elections since independence, and Zimbabweans have constantly rejected the MDC-T’s approach of violence after losing such elections.

It should dawn on Mr Tsvangirai that his mobilisation for violence will have no takers among the peace loving Zimbabweans.Mr Tsvangirai and his gang of failures must certainly not take Zimbabweans for granted, we all know too well that he is a bad loser.

He blames others for his failures, even for what happens in his bedroom. In fact, Mr Tsvangirai’s statement that he will not accept defeat is tantamount to rigging the elections, threatening Zimbabweans with death if he loses.

It is time Mr Tsvangirai wakes up from the deep slumber and mobilise for 2018 rather than intimidate the voters. Mr Tsvangirai and his party must take note of what their then secretary-general Mr Tendai Biti said in March 2014 after the opposition party lost heavily to Zanu-PF.

“Zanu-PF’s Bhora Mugedhi message resonated with the electorate,” he said. “I think it is important as Zimbabweans that the democratic movement has a message. The message of NO to the big man has been exhausted.

“Let us have a message, messages are key. Zanu-PF in the last election had a very simple message, Bhora Mugedhi . . . We (MDC-T) are selling hopes and dreams when Zanu-PF was selling practical realities.”

In political communication, a political party is a product and only a well articulated marketing strategy yields positive results.Unfortunately for Tsvangirai and company, the product, MDC-T, is no longer appealing.This is exactly what Mr Biti was putting across.

While the MDC-T is planning about life after defeat, Zanu-PF is busy on the ground, working for the electorate. The ruling party is hitting the ground with initiatives such as Command Agriculture, which has immensely contributed to the bumper harvest this season.