THE intense jostling for positions within the main
opposition MDC, ahead of the party’s May elective congress, is escalating —
with chaos marring the 20-year-old political outfit’s ongoing restructuring
exercise, the Daily News can report.
This comes as the race for positions at the looming
congress is getting hotter and more bitter by the day, amid damaging
allegations that some senior MDC officials are imposing dodgy structures in the
party along factional lines, to further their interests.
The eagerly-anticipated congress, where a new party
leadership will be chosen — including the substantive successor to the MDC’s
revered founding president, Morgan Tsvangirai, who died early last year after
losing his valiant battle against cancer of the colon — will be held from May
24 to 26.
The party’s charismatic interim leader, Nelson Chamisa, —
who narrowly lost to President Emmerson Mnangagwa in last year’s historic
elections — could face competition from either Elias Mudzuri or respected
secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora at the gathering.
Insiders told the Daily News yesterday that it was in this
context that a fresh war had broken out in the party over its ongoing
restructuring exercise, which is said to have further divided senior party
officials.
However, organising
secretary Amos Chibaya would not be drawn into commenting on the alleged chaos
raging within the party’s grassroots structures.
“I will issue a statement in due course on what progress we
have made so far in that regard,” was all Chibaya could say.
But authoritative
sources said he was “agonising” over which lists to accept from party
structures, because of the chaos currently consuming the restructuring
exercise.
“There is big trouble in the making because he (Chibaya)
has to determine which lists to accept based on who was involved in the
process.
“Parallel structures have been created in areas such as
Dzivaresekwa, Kuwadzana, Zengeza East and Zengeza West.
“The main danger is that those whose lists will be rejected
will be crying foul, and thus, there could be chaos at congress because these
people will still come claiming to be the bona fide structures and cause chaos
and fights,” a worried national executive member said.
A Chitungwiza provincial executive member also raised the
fear that Zanu PF could take advantage of the deepening chaos in the MDC to
infiltrate the party and destabilise it at the upcoming congress.
He also said the “unusually high” numbers that were being
reported for branch members were “very suspicious”.
“We know that the party is growing in leaps and bounds even
after Save’s (Tsvangirai’s) death, but the numbers that are turning up are
frankly frightening. “Some of these people are even known Zanu PF followers who
are clearly coming to join us without anyone knowing whether they are genuine.
“For now, one has to pretend to write their names on the
party’s lists, because it is hard to imagine them being allowed at congress
without questions being raised,” the Chitungwiza executive member added.
Another insider confirmed to the Daily News that the
restructuring of the party, particularly at the level of branches and wards,
had seen supporters of Chamisa, Mudzuri and Mwonzora coming up with different
lists of what they were all claiming to be bona fide members.
Claims were also increasingly being made that Chamisa,
Mudzuri and Mwonzora were separately seeking to influence the outcome of the
restructuring exercise since elected officials would form the electoral college
at the coming congress.
“This is what is causing the chaos in several provinces
such as Mashonaland East, Chitungwiza, Harare and Masvingo, where there is
serious infighting. “The divisions are also emanating from claims that there
are attempts to push out some members who are allegedly not loyal to Chamisa.
“Because of all this, disgruntled members are now also
threatening to derail the restructuring exercise in protest,” the insider said. MDC spokesperson
Jacob Mafume said he would issue a statement on what Chibaya had presented to
the party’s national standing committee, on the progress made so far, when it
met on Wednesday.
“Top of the agenda of the standing committee was the
Cyclone Idai tragedy, the forthcoming congress and the launch of our economic
blueprint in April. I will give a statement on that,” Mafume said.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes campaigning continues to
gather steam ahead of the highly-anticipated May congress.
Chamisa is seen as
the favourite to become the substantive MDC leader after the May gathering,
although some insiders are tipping Mwonzora to cause an upset — just like he
did in 2014.
Then, Chamisa was
defeated by Mwonzora for the secretary-general’s post — even though at the time
the latter was considered as a rank outsider in those elections.
Chamisa then held the powerful post of MDC organising
secretary, a position which was said to have given him the opportunity to
revamp party structures in his favour — and which structures were expected to
give him an overwhelming victory against Mwonzora who was the party
spokesperson at the time.
Mwonzora scored a
shock and unexpected crushing victory over Chamisa — which saw him getting 2
464 votes against his rival’s 1 756.
This subsequently left Chamisa as an ordinary card-carrying
member, before he was rescued by Tsvangirai who appointed him to the MDC
national executive as secretary for policy and research.
There were even
unconfirmed suggestions at the time that a stunned Chamisa, unwilling to
stomach the results of those internal polls, was even contemplating resigning
from the MDC altogether — which never happened.
In an ironic turn of
fate, Chamisa was to later assume the reins of the country’s main opposition
party ahead of his rivals, following the death of Tsvangirai last year —
albeit, under controversial circumstances.
The 41-year-old was accused of having allegedly used his
then assumed closeness to Tsvangirai’s widow, Elizabeth, to torpedo the
ambitions of the likes of Mudzuri and Thokozani Khupe.
A titanic leadership
battle subsequently ensued in the party, which eventually led to Khupe forming
a breakaway faction — which went on to perform dismally in last year’s
elections.
Chamisa ultimately prevailed over his party competitors
after a consultative meeting of the MDC, which was held at its Harare
headquarters — and which was attended by 639 delegates from 210 party districts
— endorsed him as Tsvangirai’s interim successor and the party’s presidential
candidate in the 2018 polls Daily News
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