Zimbabwe PM urges voters to support his party

Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai speaks in support for the country's draft constitution in Harare, in this Sept 8, 2012 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

HARARE - Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Thursday urged Zimbabweans to vote for his MDC party in the general elections next year so that it could implement a five-year plan to improve the economy.

Tsvangirai made the appeal when launching the plan at one of the biggest but underutilized business center in the southwest of the city.

"The first crisis we are facing in the country is a political crisis. In this plan we intend to build a political environment that is best for the country. So we have to vote for the MDC because it has a future, it has the plan," he said.

The MDC formed a power-sharing government with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party in 2009 following inconclusive elections.

Though credited with bringing political stability, the coalition government has been riddled with policy discord that has undermined its performance in rebuilding an economy shattered by a decade of decline.

The MDC named its economic plan JUICE, which stands for jobs, upliftment, investment, capital and environment.

The plan was primarily aimed at creating 1 million new jobs during the next five years, keep the inflation down and achieve an average annual economic growth rate of 8 percent by 2018, among other targets.