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Zimbabwe: Thousands join opposition meetings

The new party is called the Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC), and it was founded at the beginning of the year by reorganizing large parts of the former main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

On Saturday, at least 80 CCC representatives were arrested when they were knocking on the door in the town of Masvingo, about 300 kilometers south of Harare.

Conduct an election campaign. CCC spokesperson Fadzai Maher says it is unclear what the charges are against them.

Politically shaky Zimbabwe will hold by-elections on March 26. There are 130 parliamentary and council seats at stake, and the election is largely seen as a test before next year’s general election.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said last week at a rally for the ruling ZANU-PF party that he would not lead any Zimbabwean opposition party for the foreseeable future.

Also earlier last week, several arrests of opposition party members were reported, including deputy party leader Tendai Biti who was detained for several hours.

Nelson Chamisa, who previously led the Movement for Democratic Change, is now the leader of the CCC. Tendai Biti was previously, among other things, the Secretary General of the Movement for Democratic Change and for a time the country’s Minister of Finance.

In the 2018 presidential election, Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zanu-PF defeated Nelson Chamisa. But Mnangagwa’s victory is disputed and many suspect the election was rigged.