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Peacemaker Zano Correspondent
A Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF) Chitungwiza co-ordinator Marakia Bomani was recently quoted in the private Press saying his party is targeting the ruling Zanu-PF party’s strongholds in rural areas as a way of trying to improve its support base ahead of the 2018 elections. However, what Bomani fails to understand is that ZANU-PF is a party of people’s choice, be it in rural areas or urban areas.

In rural areas, other opposition parties like MDC-T have tried and failed to gain a political foothold. Normally, opposition parties are poorly viable to amass votes for them to win elections. Most opposition parties in Zimbabwe including ZimPF lack viable economic and development policies that are necessary for the transformation of the Zimbabwean economy. Citizens prefer to vote for a party they have much trust and confidence in rather than voting for a new kid on the political block.

Truth be told, most opposition leaders place their own interests and careers ahead of the electorate. This explains why opposition parties lose most elections especially in rural areas. Opposition parties only became active if they are promised financial resources by their donors from the West.

As it stands, opposition parties are in a political race, trying to inspire their funders. It is ZimPF’s wishful thinking to gain support in the country’s rural areas. Most citizens in rural areas are quite certain that ZANU-PF serves the interests of the people first, at the expense of achieving personal ambitions. Hence, they vote for it.

Even if ZimPF boasts about targeting ZANU-PF strongholds, let them do so, but the final result will come through the ballot box. In 2013 ZANU-PF won elections resoundingly despite the fact that there was Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC-T party competing.

ZimPF should be concerned about its party business rather than making noise and campaigning in the Press. It is very unfortunate that ZimPF wishes to portray itself as a clean and calm political party, while in actual fact it’s a party full of political turncoats who are actually trying make ends meet in the political arena. People are aware of the charges that were levelled against each and every individual in that opposition party; hence they will not risk their political aspirations by voting ZimPF into power.

It is pathetic to hear a new minor political party like ZimPF claiming that it is targeting ZANU-PF stronghold areas. Most people in rural areas will never pay attention to these claims because there is a strong bond between them and the revolutionary party. Targeting ZANU-PF strongholds is a wild goose chase by this little opposition party.

Bomani has been nonsensically saying that ZANU-PF uses violence as their campaigning tool. Certainly this is wrong. This violence is only noticed in the eyes of ZimPF through the private media. Bomani’s utterances are merely meant to tarnish the reputation of the revolutionary party. The private media is being used as a destructive tool against the ruling party by most politicians.

Remember in Rwanda, the media was at the forefront fuelling violence during the 1994 genocide. The same can happen in Zimbabwe if much attention is paid to these machinations of the media. The big problem is noticed when political parties like ZimPF and the private media houses that support them view other political parties as violent.

Pointing a finger at other political competitors as well as receiving showers of praises from the media will never make any party a winner. Political parties should be mature for them to be tolerated by the electorate.