It’s been over a month since the return of Pastor E from his exile in the land of “milk and honey” that is the United States. What is of importance is the fact that he is back home, but what is of more curious importance is what exactly his political aspirations are. He has been heard in an exclusive interview saying that he may run for the presidency in 2018. There have been mixed feelings from his unwillingness to be categorically clear on his intentions and his lukewarm approach and this has cultivated a myriad of responses from the ordinary citizen of Zimbabwe.

As we are all aware, the Constitution in Section 91(1) provides the requirements for one to run for Presidency and these include (i) being a Zimbabwean by birth and descent (ii) is 40 years of age and above (iii) is an ordinary resident of Zimbabwe (iv) a registered voter. There are also some requirements stipulated by the Electoral Act that includes one running for the presidency should have a registered political party and should have nomination papers filled by those who endorse you.

The above are the legislative frameworks that make one a legitimate candidate to run for the presidency in Zimbabwe. However, there is a need for the understanding that politics is more quantitative than it is qualitative as it is a game of numbers. For Pastor E to stand a solid chance there is the untapped population that spun properly he can swing those numbers in his favour. The untapped population being the virgin voters who are so far the untapped and pure votes. He can thus tap into that facet as Zimbabwe has about 8 million people who are eligible to vote. Zanu-PF has 2 million, MDC has 1,8 million, hence this leaves about 4 million virgin voters.

As things stand, the political fray of things is providing no excitement whatsoever for the younger generation which is the youth. It is either the youth are bored or frustrated by the current options in political parties and leaders which made us wonder how young people can be included in such processes. We need to keep in mind that young people form the basis of any transformation in a society and only meaningfully participate if they are excited. To win an aspirant needs to win over politically active young people especially current student leaders and former student leaders. They have what it takes to be the brains in any political party and at the moment they are being underutilized. Examples of such dynamic young leaders include Daniel Molokele, Nkululeko Sibanda, Philan Zamchiya, Promise Sande, Doug Coltart, Takura Zhangazha,  Clever Bere, Maureen Kademaunga, Ostallos Siziba, Sally Dura just to mention a few. Such brains could form one of the best think tanks for a better Zimbabwe. And form a solid base for grooming future political leaders.

Resources will always be the backbone of any election including human resources. If Pastor E has the capacity to raise resources that actually support young people to run for political office, they will all be his vote.

There is the issue of the rural vote and how he can capture that. Without the rural folk, we know that there is no election and this electorate should be delicately handled seeing as they have been under the iron fist of the ruling party’s propaganda for almost all the elections that Zimbabwe has ever had.

International solidarity forms the critical base for changing regimes. It is key for a society for a society that envisions change and thus its transformation will be through an electo-centric approach. This serves the purpose of legitimacy that is in tandem with international law.

Above all, a leader cannot be called one unless he dons on the jacket of COURAGE. There is a need for recognition that this is a war and one has to be ready to do what is absolutely necessary to get to the finishing line alive or posthumously to achieve the set goal. – Open Parl