MDC unite to fight!

Far from splintering or boycotting the new elections, the opposition are joining hands to challenge Mugabe

Expect an announcement from Zimbabwe's much-maligned Movement For Democratic Change (MDC) tomorrow, Friday, when leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his aides return from consultations in South Africa. I can predict that Movement will not after all boycott the forthcoming combined elections at the end of March. Instead it will unite to go all-out for victory.

It had been expected by many observers that Mugabe's decision to abandon conciliation talks with South Africa's Thabo Mbeki, and go for a snap election in four weeks' time, would lead to an opposition boycott. The time-scale and the failure of the talks had, it was thought, tilted the playing field to an impossibly steep angle. At the least it was thought that the two wings of the MDC would go their separate ways.

Instead I can exclusively reveal that differences have been buried, and that the united MDC will campaign under the leadership of Tsvangirai, with Arthur Mutambara, leader of the other wing of the movement, also taking a prominent role. .

And the actual campaign plans, as revealed to me this week, are a tribute to the leadership qualities of Tsvangirai and Mutambara. There is even agreement on the vice-presidency of the MDC - Gibson Sibanda.

The plans are simple, straightforward, and on the face of it, very workable. Candidates of the two MDC wings will not compete for the same seat. Instead there will be an equable division of the available seats.

In five of the ten provinces, the constituencies will be divided as follows: 30 per cent allotted to the Mutambara wing, 70 per cent to the Tsvangirai wing. In the other five constituencies, the percentages will be reversed. Thus each wing will challenge for 50 per cent of the seats, without clashing with the other.

"Everything has been finalised," a top MDC official told me off the record. "Morgan and his team will return from South Africa on Thursday (today) and the announcement will be made the following day."

It's an encouraging development in the battle against Zanu-PF and its raddled old leader. But I would personally add a word of warning. As I have said before in this column, Mugabe's men are experts at rigging elections. After all, they've had plenty of experience.

Comments

[ndlocu]

finally good news is coming from Zim. now that Morgan and Mutambara are re-uniting may this be a strong team.
you share the same vision of saving Zimbabweans from that blood mugabe.
during this period before the polls mobiles all structures countrywide to vote out Mugabe

[henry]

united we stand divided we fall Morgan and Mutambara. hope this time it will work our folks

[Michael Wilton]

Excellent news, a reunited MDC should make a formidable opposition to what has become a stale government led by the greedy and corrupt.

However, given Mugabe and ZANU-PF's prior records for corruption and ballot rigging, I hold grave reservations about how effective they can be on an uneven playing field. I hope for the sake of Zimbabwe and all citizens that these elections prove to be the ones that free them, because I honestly believe this is the last and best hope of ending this tyrannical regime with a minimum of bloodshed.

[Uncle B]

Ordinary Zimbabweans also need to lay their part in this very important campaign against the regime. Knowing that Zanu PF wil seal off the rural areas especially the Mashonaland Region, can we have individuals going home at Easter to do intensive one to one voter education to their rural folks please. This is only one of the many strategies that can be used to get to the people with the right change messages.

[CHIMINYA]

Dispora vote next.Just send fuel to fellow zimbas to go for easter holidays and campaign hard. Without fuel no one can afford to go to kumusha and spread the word.Now think about the logistics to go about it to prevent ZANU infiltration.