MDC factions set to unite

By Lance Guma
28 January 2008

Officials from both factions of the MDC spent the weekend locked in intense discussions trying to unite the party ahead of the March 29 elections. Under the deal Morgan Tsvangirai will lead the party, with Arthur Mutambara being given one of the senior positions. Although party officials remain tight-lipped on the arrangement, sources say an announcement will be made within the week. The process will however have to overcome strong resistance from the Tsvangirai MDC structures, particularly in Bulawayo where key figures feel betrayed. Senior officials who backed Tsvangirai during the October 2005 split say they doubt the sincerity of the other side in any unity deal.

MDC Shadow Home Affairs Secretary Sam Sipepa Nkomo told Newsreel that because of the time frame for elections they had to move fast in tying up a deal and this had not given their members enough time to adjust and accept the implications of a deal. He said this is why there are many members who are against uniting the party. Asked to respond to cynics who say the Mutambara faction will join Tsvangirai for the election and then dump him later after having won parliamentary seats, Nkomo admitted everyone shared those fears and it was, ‘the talk of the town right now.’ He however said the party had to take risks for the good of the country.

It remains to be seen how the two factions resolve conflicting positions on the elections. Mutambara MDC spokesman Gabriel Chaibva told Newsreel last week that they will participate in the poll given that Mugabe’s regime had met all the legal requirements. This contrasted sharply with the statement by Tsvangirai MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa who called Mugabe’s announcement ‘an act of madness which had put the final nail into the coffin of the dialogue.’

A few days later Mutambara MDC Secretary General Welshman Ncube contradicted Chaibva by telling the weekly Zimbabwe Standard newspaper that their National Council is still to make a decision on participation. The same dilemma seems to confront the Tsvangirai MDC as their National Council will meet this week to decide.

Analysts say a unity deal will make it unlikely Tsvangirai will call for a boycott of the poll. ‘There is now strong pressure to participate given that the smaller faction of the party is determined to take part and has made it clear from the start that they do not believe in boycotts,’ one political commentator said. Tsvangirai might find himself in a similar situation to the October 2005 split where some of his officials in the then united MDC wanted to take part in senate elections while he dismissed the elections as a waste of resources. Should the party reunite, a key decision on election participation has to be made and the lingering consequences of another split will be familiar territory for Tsvangirai.

Meanwhile Newsreel has been told off the record that the MDC united or split will be taking part in the elections. A senior official who opposes participation said the problem lay with party supporters who are confident Mugabe can be beaten even under the current harsh political climate. Opposition legislators are also said to be eager to maintain their seats in parliament and very reluctant to support a boycott. It’s a case of ‘damned if you, damned if you don’t’ another commentator said.