THE opposition MDC led by Nelson Chamisa is likely to hold
its congress in October after a national standing committee meeting held on
Wednesday failed to come up with a date, NewsDay has learnt.
Sources who attended the meeting said there were heated
exchanges during the meeting over the interpretation of the party’s
constitution.
But Chamisa told his lieutenants that he would have the
final word. Chamisa reportedly clashed with party secretary-general, Douglas
Mwonzora after the latter recused himself from indicating which date he
preferred congress to be held.
“It was a heated meeting. Chamisa asked everyone to give a
date on which the congress should be held, but Mwonzora refused probably
feeling he had been waylaid. Chamisa probably wanted to gauge his adversaries’
preparedness and was angered by Mwonzora’s response,” a source said.
“He (Chamisa) was not amused. He accused Mwonzora of
‘trying to be clever and half’. Chamisa’s supporters in the meeting preferred
August while others want it in October. In the end, there was no consensus and
Chamisa said he would have the final
say.”
Chamisa controversially rose to power last February
railroading the party’s national council into endorsing him as successor after
founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai passed away in South Africa.
Tsvangirai’s death triggered an internal power struggle
that resulted in then co-vice-president Thokozani Khupe breaking away, while
another vice-president, Elias Mudzuri and Mwonzora stayed on. They are
reportedly plotting to challenge Chamisa at congress.
Another source, however, said Chamisa had given everyone a
chance to give their interpretation of the constitutional provisions.
“Chamisa asked everyone to read the constitution and give
their interpretation of when the congress should be held. Our constitution says
congress must be held every five years, but a special congress can be held in
the event of a vacancy in the office of the president before his or her term
expires.
“While we all know that Chamisa was endorsed by the
national council to take over as substantive leader, it is important to note
that it would be unhygienic to hold an extra-ordinary congress in the same year
as a congress proper,” NewsDay heard.
“The president is actually right. He could call for an
extra-ordinary congress today, get elected and then refuse to have his position
contested in October. The fifth year for us began in November last year and
anytime from then we could have held our congress. It’s just a matter of
logistics.”
Party spokesperson Jacob Mafume confirmed that the standing
committee discussed the issue of political dialogue, congress and the situation
in the country.
“It was an open meeting in which people were allowed to air
their views regarding congress. While we do not have a specific date yet, most
agreed that we will have it in October. What is left are logistics and, in any
case, our structures will have to begin this process soon,” Mafume said.
Mwonzora refused to comment on the claims of an altercation
between him and Chamisa.
“The national standing committee is a private meeting whose
discussions are the preserve of members of the party,” he said. Newsday
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