Five opposition parties have formed a political alliance named Coalition of Democrats (CODE) with the intention of toppling Zanu PF in the 2018 elections.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, Coalition of Democrats chairperson, Gilbert Dzvikiti said the coalition was there to work for the common good and bring leadership change to the country.
“Political parties have seen it fit to come together and form an alliance.
We came in our diversity, with the desire to change the fortunes of our country and unite under one framework called CODE” said Dzvikiti.
The coalition is an amalgamation of five different political parties which include ,The MDC under Professor Welshman Ncube, Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn (MKD) led by Dr Simba Makoni, Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe spearheaded by Elton Mangoma, Democratic Assembly for Restoration and Empowerment led by Gilbert Dzvikiti and Dr Farai Mbira of the ZUNDE party.
Compelled by the need to remove the Mugabe led government in 2018, the parties agreed to field one presidential candidate.
MKD leader, Dr Simba Makoni alluded that they feel the need to unite for a common purpose.
“We are coming together for a common goal which is to bring back the country to its former glory.
So we are saying, come 2018, we will field one candidate under the CODE banner and all five political parties involved will rally behind that candidate. We are not only doing this for the presidential race but for all other categories.” said Makoni.
However, the Tendai Biti led People’s Democratic Party and Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) under the leadership of Dumiso Dabengwa have distanced themselves from the newly formed coalition saying they need time to resolve in-house issues before appending their signatures on the agreement.
“As PDP, we are happy to see our colleagues joining hands for this good cause. It’s unfortunate that we are not able to join them at the moment because we have constitutional issues concerning our party that we are working on.
Once that is complete, be rest assured that you will see us joining the coalition” said PDP leader, Tendai Biti.
Dumiso Dabengwa echoed the above sentiments saying his party is still making consultations with various stakeholders before signing the document.
CODE Chairperson, Dzvikiti said,doors remain open to other opposition parties who are willing to join the newly formed alliance . He was responding to questions on whether they had sidelined other parties like Zimbabwe People First and the Tsvangirai led Movement for Democratic Change.
“We approached those two but they refused to join forces with us. People First, said they still have to go to their congress and make a decision but the MDC-T highlighted that they could not join us.
We urge every other party that intends to be with us to do so before we go for the elections in 2018.” said Dzvikiti.
Professor Welshman Ncube could not shed more light on how the coalition is going to change the economic situation of the country but said they are working on a blueprint that will enhance economic growth.
