MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa has attacked party supporters
who come to provincial congresses drunk and engaging in violence.
“We do not want the demon of violence,” he said in Masvingo.
“Do not come here drunk; when you come here, you come with a legitimate
grievance. We want things to be done according to the rules of the game. If you
are angry do not transfer your brain to your muscles.”
Chamisa appealed to his party members to shun violence
which he said threatened to split the party in Masvingo as evidenced by
skirmishes reported during the lower-tier level polls.
He spoke after commotion and allegations of vote buying
marred the MDC Alliance provincial congress held at Masvingo Sports Club that
saw incumbent chair Mr James Gumbi retaining his position after winning by a
narrow margin.
Mr Gumbi garnered 1 004 votes while his closest rival,
Advocate Simon Mupindu, got 966 votes during the polls that were presided over
by party leader Mr Nelson Chamisa.
Initially, ex-Masvingo Urban legislator Mr Tongai Matutu
was set to challenge Mr Gumbi, but he was disqualified from the race for
abandoning the party soon after the 2013 polls.
Mr Matutu then threw his weight behind Advocate Mupindu
after his disqualification.
Mr Gumbi retained his position amid accusations of rigging
and vote buying from his rivals, further deepening factionalism in the party
that has manifested in intense infighting in Masvingo over the past few years.
All those who were in Mr Matutu’s faction fell by the
wayside in the provincial elections that were closely watched by Mr Chamisa.
“Gumbi was dishing out money so that he gets nominated,”
said a party supporter. “He is simply exploiting his financial muscle to buy
votes and this is not good for our party going into the future because it will
be left severely weakened.”
Mr Gumbi was accused of fraudulently getting nominations
from 23 out of 26 party districts in the province.
His backers poured cold water on allegations by Mr Matutu’s
camp, accusing the ex-Masvingo legislator of having dumped the party when party
founding leader Dr Morgan Tsvangirai was still alive. Herald
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