By Alex Magaiasa
Now that the by-elections are done and the fate of Mwonzora’s MDC-T has been sealed, we must revisit the case of MPs who are still in parliament but swear allegiance to CCC. Mwonzora has not recalled these MPs & there has long been a debate over what they should do.
In the past, I argued that the MPs should stay put until Mwonzora removed them. I advised against mass resignations because I did not think it was politically wise to put the cost on Chamisa. Because humans are self-interested, there was a high risk some MPs would defy him.
Since Chamisa couldn’t be sure of his control of MPs it would have been unwise for him to ask them to resign because any defiance would have undermined his authority. If Mwonzora didn’t want them it was up to him to carry the political cost of removing them.
Indeed, the spate of removals were politically costly for Mwonzora. He thought he was powerful but he came across as unhinged and vindictive which diminished his standing in the eyes of citizens. This would not have been as evident had the MPs resigned en masse.
The strategy was to let him shoot himself in the foot so that by the time elections came he would be damaged goods. And so it happened that by the time 26 March arrived Mwonzora had done more than enough to make himself politically repulsive and his candidates unelectable.
His party performed dismally, losing every seat. There is nothing to gained anymore because politically he’s done. Any recalls that he might do now will not change public perception. The strategy of letting him self-immolate has run its course. He is done.
If anything, he is now desperate to keep these MPs for financial reasons. Remember one of the sacrifices of staying in parliament was that Mwonzora would still claim public funding on their account. If they stay in there, Mwonzora will still claim funding on their account.
This is why it may now be time to pull the rug from under his feet. If the MPs leave now, there will be new by-elections. However, might say by-elections are costly & there is nothing to be gained as 2023 is very close & there’s no need for more diversions.
This is why it may now be time to pull the rug from under his feet. If the MPs leave now, there will be new by-elections. However, might say by-elections are costly & there is nothing to be gained as 2023 is very close & there’s no need for more diversions.
This is a plausible argument but it comes at a cost: Mwonzora will continue to claim public funding on the basis of these MPs. However, the CCC may decide that this cost is not worth risking more by-elections which would be a drain on resources when 2023 should be the priority.
In that case, CCC can bite its tongue and let Mwonzora take the money unless of course he becomes so irked by the MPs’ pledges of allegiance to the CCC that he decides to recall them. To resign or carry on & wait for Mwonzora’s axe – that is the question for these MPs.
