THE Nelson Chamisa-led MDC-T will today hold an explosive
national council meeting amid reports that the indaba could be used as a
witch-hunt against party officials accused of fanning indiscipline, divisions
and insubordination.
This came at a time when there was debate within the party
over the status of the MDC Alliance, where some were of the view that it should
be disbanded, while others want the alliance to become a fully-fledged
political party.
It is understood that the indaba will focus on key
contentious issues that could define the future of the main opposition party
going forward.
These include the future of the MDC Alliance, which failed
to dislodge President Emmerson Mnangagwa from power in the July 30 elections,
despite a spirited fight by Chamisa in the presidential race.
NewsDay also heard that the meeting would focus on the
threat to the existence of the opposition alliance and the divisive elective
congress next year, with reports that Chamisa’s potential challengers were
already finding it “tough” to survive in the main opposition party.
Chamisa’s spokesperson, Nkululeko Sibanda said his boss
called for the national council meeting to take stock of all the party organs
and chart the way forward.
“One thing that is very clear is that we received credible
intelligence that Zanu PF is planning to destroy the party in the next six
months and they are throwing these stories just to cause despondency,” Sibanda
said.
“But they don’t realise that president Chamisa has not just
build the party in the last six months, but has built a movement. A movement
survives every onslaught.”
Although some party officials told NewsDay that the
national council would likely discuss the suitability of potential challengers
to Chamisa’s leadership mettle, party chairman Morgen Komichi flatly refuted
reports that some top officials could fall by the wayside after the meeting.
This also followed reports that the stage had been set to
purge secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora and his purported loyalists from the
party.
“What is happening now is that we are going into a season
of internal democracy and there is a group of leaders that does not want
Chamisa to be contested,” a senior official said.
“By the time we go to congress, all those that are seen to
be harbouring ambitions will be gone. We are preparing for a bruising fight and
for our secretary-general [Mwonzora], it will be hard because there are people
around Chamisa who feel threatened and are pinning him over his endorsement by Zanu
PF’s war veterans.”
But Komichi said today’s meeting would be a post-mortem of
the elections and map the way forward.
He said that Mwonzora and others that were viewed as
against Chamisa were not on the agenda.
“I haven’t heard about that and we don’t have complaints
against him,” he said in reference to Mwonzora.
Mwonzora himself is on record dismissing the “divisive”
agenda linking him to leading a faction trying to wrest power from Chamisa.
There were reports of sharp differences within the MDC
Alliance over the distribution of seats in the recent election, which resulted
in multiple contestants in several constituencies.
The MDC Alliance principals have not met since the
elections, further fuelling speculation that all was not well in the coalition.
“We haven’t met, of course, after the elections, but we are
communicating and working on the issues of the electoral challenge. It was
hectic. We are going to keep the alliance alive,” Komichi said.
He also said there was a possibility of forming one major
party.
MDC Alliance spokesperson Welshman Ncube weighed in, saying
the alliance was well in place.
He said they had a written agreement to work together.
“The alliance has Members of Parliament which the alliance
has to manage and direct on how to do their work in Parliament in the next five
years,” Ncube said.
“The alliance has councillors and it has responsibility to
provide leadership in those councils. Everyone who won at whatever level won on
the ticket of the alliance. The alliance, therefore, has all these people who
are the responsibility of the alliance.”
He said the alliance had learnt the importance of unity and
working together.
“Obviously, there will be future elections in 2023,” Ncube
said. “The alliance in whatever shape or form will obviously be in those
elections.”
He said while the alliance principals had not met as yet
since the elections, they, however, kept in touch and made decisions jointly
through teleconferences to discuss issues such as election petitions and Press
statements. Newsday
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