BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
THE MDC Alliance says it will not take a festive break from its rural mobilisation drive, but will instead ramp up the campaigns during that period to target gatherings in the countryside where people are merry-making.
MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has been on a whirlwind tour in rural areas to drum up support for the opposition party ahead of the upcoming 2023 elections.
Chamisa’s entourage and his supporters have been attacked on several occasions during the rural campaigns by suspected Zanu PF supporters.
The violence claimed the life of MDC Alliance activist Nyasha Zhambe of Gutu, Masvingo.
Zanu PF recently admitted that Chamisa’s inroads into rural areas were a cause for concern for the party, which often boasts majority support in the countryside.
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MDC Alliance secretary for rural mobilisation and strategy Happymore Chidziva told The Standard that they would capitalise on festive gatherings in the rural areas including encouraging new voters to register to vote in the upcoming elections.
“There is no festive season for us this time,” Chidziva said.
“We are not going to take a break; we are going on with our rural mobilisation exercise. We don’t break because those are the communities we live in, so we will keep on mobilising.”
The opposition party is targeting six million voters in its voter mobilisation campaign plan.
Zanu PF party wants to increase the number of its registered voters to five million and to ensure a 65% election victory.
Recently, Zanu PF political commissar Mike Bimha told journalists that the ruling party had so far reached four million people following the restructuring exercise.
Chidziva said: “We are getting there. We have won the hearts of many people in the rural communities and that is why we are not breaking the mobilisation exercise.
“Voter registration is a key part of our electoral campaign and we target seven million votes for change.”
The opposition party narrowly lost to Zanu PF in the 2018 elections with Chamisa getting more than two million votes.
Zanu Pf has said it will use the March by-elections to gauge its popularity after conducting a restructuring exercise.