Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance, is failing to push back against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government on major issues including gross human rights abuse, embezzlement of public funds, corruption by top government officials and a fragile health system. Instead, various civil society groups across the country are the ones making the noise. Will they foster the change that the opposition cannot?
In the 2018 general elections, the MDC Alliance – led by its charismatic leader Nelson Chamisa – won 64 parliamentary seats out of the 210 contestable seats in the country’s national assembly. The ruling Zanu PF party amassed a total of 144 seats.