Army cannot let Chamisa win poll, says Zanu-PF official

A ZANU-PF official said the army was not in a position to let the opposition win the upcoming general elections in Zimbabwe.

Deputy finance minister and Harare East legislator Terence Mukupe told Zanu-PF members at a meeting in Harare that Nelson Chamisa of the MDC Alliance – arguably president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s most visible challenger – was too young for the task.

“How can we say‚ honestly‚ the soldiers took the country‚ practically snatched it from Mugabe‚ to come and hand it over to Chamisa? This country needs a grown-up,” Mukupe said.

Chamisa‚ 40‚ controversially took over the leadership of the MDC-T when veteran party leader Morgan Tsvangirai died in February.

He is in a battle for legitimacy with Thokozani Khupe‚ who has formed a breakaway MDC party.

With statistics from the voters’ roll indicating that about 60% of registered voters are in the 40-year age demographic‚ analysts have been predicting that the youth could carry a swing vote against Zanu-PF‚ whose candidate is 75.

Mukupe‚ in the same age bracket as Chamisa‚ declared that a young president would not be tolerated.

Vice-president Kembo Mohadi last week denied that Zanu-PF was being led by the army and that it would stay on if the party loses the watershed elections which are expected to take place in July.

But Mukupe’s statement has caused concern among the public and the opposition.

Political scientist Ibbo Mandaza warned at a policy meeting last week that an upset at the polls could mean the military would again take matters into its own hands, like it did in November when Robert Mugabe was ousted.

“We believe we need a contingency plan because the possibility of some mad soldiers trying to take the law into their own hands is real.”

Meanwhile‚ there have been calls for servers of the national registry to be moved from army headquarters because of fears the voters’ roll could be manipulated.

In 2008, the military stepped in to the rescue of Mugabe when he was forced into an election run-off with Tsvangirai.

The two leaders later formed an inclusive government, but Tsvangirai was sidelined from most security briefings.