Opposition parties sign pact to oust Zanu-PF in 2018

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party and that of former deputy president Joice Mujuru this week signed a pact to work together to topple President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF in the 2018 elections.

“This is just the beginning of the building blocks towards establishing a broad alliance to confront Zanu-PF between now and the next election in 2018,” said Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

“This is our collective struggle and I call upon the people of Zimbabwe to join us in working together ... so that we can reclaim our country, our freedom and our dignity,” he told journalists on Wednesday after signing the agreement.

Mujuru, who leads the National People’s Party, was expelled from Mugabe’s government and Zanu-PF in December 2014 and later formed her own party.

She said she was looking forward to working with Tsvangirai. “This is something we have discussed since last year,” she said.

“We have taken more than six months, to say the least, of consulting, discussing.”

Tsvangirai and Mujuru would not divulge the terms of their agreement, but the MDC leader revealed that he was planning to enter into similar agreements with other smaller political parties.

Mujuru, a former ally of Mugabe, was expelled from Zanu-PF after Mugabe’s wife, Grace, accused her of plotting against the president and fanning factionalism in the party.

Mujuru has denied the charges against her.

A united coalition would be the first to challenge the dominance of Zanu-PF at the polls. It follows years of vote-rigging allegations against Mugabe’s party, which has been in power since independence from Britain in 1980.