Youth Advocacy for Reform and Democracy (YARD) Founder and Commander-in-Chief Temba Mliswa has declared his ambition to vie for the vacant Norton Constituency seat.
Mliswa confirmed this development during a press conference in the capital where he declared his desire to contest for the seat which fell vacant following the expulsion of Former Minister of War Vets, Christopher Mutsvangwa from Parliamnent and the seat has since been recalled as per constitutional requirements.
The YARD boss who is a victim of the Zanu PF purges was booted out of the ruling party following allegations of being aligned to former Vice President Joice Mujuru in 2014.
“After meeting with the National Management Command, I have decided to stand as a candidate for the now vacant Norton Constituency seat and I have the blessing of the National Executive of YARD who have endorsed my candidature,” said Mliswa.
The former Mashonaland West Provincial Chairman said the By-election will act as a barometer in understanding Zanu PF’s strength in the rural areas, since the Norton Constituency is a peri-urban area.
He added that the recent Zanu PF win in Mazowe North would appear to indicate that Zanu PF still maintains “an iron grip” in the rural areas but it was up to all political parties to start campaigns in those areas if they are to beat Zanu PF in the 2018 polls.
“The result may flatter many Zanu PF supporters, but they need to understand that the opposition parties have been neglecting these areas where most work is required to see any meaningful democratic change.
“For this reason, I want to urge everyone in Norton to show their support for me and show that they are tired of this regime,” added Mliswa.
Turning to protests that rocked the country in recently, Mliswa said that protesters should not just protest in the street but they should also protest by casting their votes in the ballot box.
“Yes we have the #tajamuka group and the #thisflag movement, those ones can only work if people speak out by voting.
“There is no way that we as ordinary people can just remove (President) Mugabe through protest movements, we need to reach out to people and tell them to vote,” he said.
Meanwhile, Temba Mliswa has urged President Mugabe to listen to the concerns of the people rather than unleashing mobs on them
He said President Mugabe should consider having a discussion with leaders of these movements so that he gets a clear picture of what the general public wants him to do
“He (President Mugabe) should invite leaders of #tajamuka and Pastor Evan Mawarire for tea and warm scones and talk things out.
“He should listen to what they have to say rather than having them incarcerated or beaten up simply because they have tried to speak out. These men have seen something that the President is not seeing and those are issues they need addressed,” Mliswa said.
He added that the President is being misled by people around him who are always hiding the real picture of the sorry state of the economy from him.
