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Fungi Kwaramba

Political Editor

BELEAGUERED opposition CCC factional leader Mr Nelson Chamisa should not misconstrue internal contradictions bedevilling his party as a constitutional crisis in the country as that is a complete distortion of the reality on the ground where focus is on accelerated implementation of development programmes and projects, Government has said.

In a statement last night, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere, described Mr Chamisa’s claims of a constitutional crisis as a fallacy devoid of any substance.

“The Government has taken note of the fallacy-ridden statement by Mr Nelson Chamisa to try and rally Zimbabweans to despondency and to mislead the global community about a non-existent post-election crisis in our country.

“There is no constitutional crisis in Zimbabwe. There has never been such a crisis even as we headed towards the 2023 harmonised elections,” said Dr Muswere.

 This comes after Mr Chamisa told a press conference in Harare yesterday that he would disengage from both Parliament and urban municipalities in protest to the recall of 15 of his legislators by a faction opposed to his despotic inclinations inside the CCC.

Instead of tackling the bloodletting and factional fights in his party, Mr Chamisa is seemingly desperate to project victimhood, and in the process continuously claim that the August 23 elections were rigged to gain international sympathy.

“Mr Chamisa has not subjected his election fraud claims to judiciary test in terms of the Constitution which clearly spells out the legal processes to be undertaken in the case of a disputed election outcome. Therefore the attention-seeking rants must be disregarded by all.,” said Dr Muswere .

He added that if Mr Chamisa goes ahead with his threat to disengage from Parliament, then it will be smooth sailing for the ruling party Zanu PF without needless bickering from the minority opposition. 

“Any voluntary withdrawal by any Member of Parliament across the political divide will  be a disservice to the mandate one would have received from the electorate. It should be noted that a quorum constituted renders all parliamentary business legitimate and legal. Therefore, Mr Chamisa must not misconstrue internal contradictions of a political party as a legitimacy crisis in Zimbabwe.”

On his part, the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi, scoffed at the opposition’s threats to withdraw from Parliament if the Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Mudenda does not rescind the recall of 15 CCC legislators.

The 15 legislators were recalled after interim CCC secretary-general Mr Sengezo Tshabangu wrote to Parliament advising the Speaker of his faction’s stance.

In an interview, Minister Ziyambi, who is also the leader of Government business in Parliament, said if and when Mr Chamisa carries out his threat, that will actuate electoral processes which will lead to by-elections.

“The position is very clear, we don’t work on threats. We work on what is done, the Speaker reacted to a letter that was written by their interim secretary-general and did what he had to do, we believe that if they can solve their own internal issues the better and so that they take their seats in Parliament but if they decide to disengage, the applicable laws will be applied and vacancies will be declared and those who want to engage will have to be elected to take their positions. 

“The job of the Speaker is to notice, he is not the adjudicator and he made it clear that if they felt hard done by his judgment they could approach the courts,” said Min Ziyambi.

He said political parties must desist from bringing their political squabbles to Parliament, and respect the institution’s standing rules and orders without seeking to play to the gallery for cheap political mileage.

“If they decide they want to withdraw and the requisite time lapses then they cease to be parliamentarians and a by-election will be held,” said Min Ziyambi.

With the prospects of losing out in the deadly factional battles rocking his party, Mr Chamisa yesterday threatened to resort to violence but Government urged the nation to disregard him and his violent tendencies.