BY MOSES MATENGA THE MDC Alliance says it will fight to keep its name ahead of possible by-elections to replace its recalled legislators and councillors, or risk allowing impunity to reign unchecked . Speaking to NewsDay yesterday, opposition MDC Alliance secretary-general Chalton Hwende said they would not allow the ruling Zanu PF to steal its name through a proxy, Douglas Mwonzora and his MDC-T party. He said allowing Mwonzora to claim the MDC Alliance name was tantamount to allowing rigging . “Why allow them to rig? We are fighting to reclaim everything, including the 2018 victory,” Hwende said. “Our position is clear that we are the MDC that was founded in 1999 and participated in the last elections as MDC Alliance. That is our name, that is our history and it holds our values as a party.” He added that if his party changed its name, then the elections would be stolen. The MDC Alliance secretary-general said his party would not abandon its name, adding that it was prepared to fight the system. “If we surrender the name, the thief will come again and steal more from us and, therefore, we will have to continue fighting. It is our name, why should we abandon it? Mwonzora is just an accessory to the theft and we are not even worried about him. We want to deal with the real thief,” he said. Hwende also said the MDC Alliance would, as a way of protest, boycott by-elections if it was blocked from using its party name. His statement comes after Mwonzora’s MDC-T last month claimed that it would contest the yet-to-be-announced by-elections as MDC Alliance, a move likely to confuse opposition voters and advantage the ruling Zanu PF party. Hwende yesterday insisted that Mwonzora’s MDC-T was working in cahoots with Zanu PF to destroy their movement. He said the Nelson Chamisa-led party would not participate in any by-election if it was forced to abandon its name, but would keep fighting for electoral reforms to ensure a level playing field. “There won’t be any by-election that will be allowed to take place without the MDC represented by advocate Nelson Chamisa,” he said. “We are Zimbabweans, we are protected by the Constitution and (President Emmerson) Mnangagwa is determined to (make) our party (extinct). We are not going to allow them. This is a fight that we are prepared for and if you allow dictators to steal your name and you force yourself to participate in that sham election, what guarantee do you have that your election result will not be stolen? “We don’t participate in elections for purposes of fulfilling a ritual. We participate because we believe in democracy and so there will be no elections, and they must not fool themselves. If they call for by-elections, Zec [Zimbabwe Electoral Commission] must facilitate participation of the MDC Alliance as led by Advocate Nelson Chamisa.” Zanu PF recently rubbished claims that it was working with Mwonzora to obliterate the MDC Alliance, saying the opposition should solve its internal problems. Hwende is among the more than 40 MPs that were recalled by the MDC-T. About 80 cou