Opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa has challenged his rival President Emmerson Mnangagwa to come in the open and tell the electorate if he has “never spilled blood” while being in government for more than 42 years.
After becoming one of the youngest ministers soon after independence in 1980, Mnangagwa stayed in government under Zanu-PF and the late former President Robert Mugabe until he removed the latter through a military coup in November 2017.
He went on to win a tightly contested 2018 election while Mugabe died in a Singapore hospital in 2019 from prostate cancer.
On Wednesday this week, Zimbabwe is going for a crucial harmonised general election in which Chamisa will battle Mnangagwa for the highest job in the country.
Addressing his final rally attended by thousands of CCC supporters at Freedom Square in Harare, Chamisa said he was confident of winning the upcoming election.
He challenged Mnangagwa for a live debate to show what they are offering Zimbabweans before the actual plebiscite.
The main opposition leader also wants Mnangagwa to prove if his hands are clean following more than three decades of Zanu-PF rule characterised by alleged violence against critics.
“Zimbabwe, my hands are clean. I’ve never spilled blood. I challenge ED to say the same,” Chamisa said.
“I challenge Mnangagwa to a televised debate even tomorrow. It’s not too late. Mnangagwa, you produce your CV, I produce mine. You tell us about your plans, I also speak about mine.”
Chamisa also promised to fix the struggling economy with US$100 billion.
“We’re going to restore the economy. We want to build a US$100 billion dollar economy. We want to create 2,5 million jobs. We have all the work done and laid out.
“We have what is called the RATE, Rapid Accelerated Transformation of the Economy. Try us, you will see what the government is going to do,” he said.
In order to guard their votes against any form of manipulation, Chamisa urged his supporters to stay 300 metres away from the polling stations and not to go home.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said wearing party regalia, sloganeering, using political or candidate-branded vehicles and distributing leaflets or pamphlets on behalf of a candidate or political party is prohibited.