By- The opposition leader MDC-T Douglas Mwonzora said he was confident of grabbing the 2023 Presidential polls.

Mwonzora, Thursday, told reporters that his party had learned from its poor showing in recent by-elections and was now well-placed to challenge the dominant parties, Zanu PF and CCC, in next year’s elections.

 He said:

The party is preparing for the 2023 elections. We have resolved that we are going to contest 210 constituencies.

We did learn our lessons as the MDC in the bye-elections that happened on 26 March, and we have put in place a strategy that will deal with those.

After we did not do well in the by-elections we went back to the drawing board and we are making those interventions that will make us succeed.

We are going to fare much better than most political parties in 2023.

Mwonzora denied allegations that he intimidated other party officials from challenging his position ahead of the MDC-T elective congress set for 18 December.

One of the alleged presidential hopefuls, Norest Marara, filed of an urgent chamber application at the High Court alleging unconstitutional practices in the party. Said Mwonzora:

There was a court application by Mr Marara but that court application has been dismissed by the courts as being not urgent.

We are very happy that Mr Marara took his case to court where people who are not us presided over it.

No one was stopped from contesting the elections. We do not intimidate people here in the MDC.

I made it clear as the MDC president that my position was up for grabs. I am the only opposition leader who dares to do that.

Since the formation of CCC early this year, MDC-T has failed to win a single parliamentary or local authority seat in by-elections that were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. | NewZimbabwe.com