The move comes
amid ongoing power struggles within the party, following a February 2025
Justice Happias Zhou High Court ruling ordering party leader Douglas Mwonzora
to step down and facilitate a congress within six months.
The ruling
cited irregularities in the 2022 MDC-T extraordinary congress, which saw
Mwonzora assuming leadership of the party. Speaking on the sidelines of the
meeting, which was later halted, MDC-T vice-president Elias Mudzuri said the
party had agreed on reconciliation and restructuring with Mwonzora, but the
latter refused to sign the agreement.
“As bona fide
members of the MDC, we decided to come together as one family to resolve these
issues,” Mudzuri said.
“Continued
court battles are not in the party’s best interests. We have seen membership
decline and waning enthusiasm, so a negotiated settlement is the best way
forward.”
Mudzuri alleged
that Mwonzora caused the disruption of the meeting by the police.
“The police
said they were maintaining order because Mwonzora informed them about our
gathering. They advised us to reschedule,” he said.
He claimed that
while the party had agreed to nullify the disputed 2022 congress and adopt a
“let bygones be bygones” approach to foster unity, Mwonzora refused to sign the
agreement because “he still wants power”.
Mudzuri
emphasised that members, not individuals, hold ultimate authority in the party.
A joint
monitoring and implementation committee will oversee the transitional process,
comprising negotiators from both factions.
Mwonzora, who
boycotted the 2023 elections calling them a “sham”, has been accused of
collaborating with Zanu PF to destabilise the opposition since seizing the
leadership of the MDC Alliance from former party leader Nelson Chamisa. Newsday
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