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Will Chamisa Appoint Mwonzora, Mudzuri to Top Posts to Avoid MDC Split?


FILE: Nelson Chamisa, leader of the pposition Movement for Democratic Change, Jan. 29, 2019.
FILE: Nelson Chamisa, leader of the pposition Movement for Democratic Change, Jan. 29, 2019.

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Nelson Chamisa is planning to deploy Douglas Mwonzora and Elias Mudzuri to influential positions soon after the MDC’s elective Congress next month, according to the privately-owned NewsDay newspaper.

Mwonzora and Mudzuri have been nominated by only one province each for the posts of secretary general and vice president respectively out of the 12 where the party has selected delegates for the national congress.

Indications are that they will bite the dust in the forthcoming congress as the post of secretary general appears to be already in the hands of lawmaker Chalton Hwende. Mudzuri, Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti, Morgen Komichi and Lilian Timveous are vying for the two posts of vice president.

According to the newspaper, Chamisa wants the party to remain intact after the Congress by appointing some current senior MDC to influential positions if they are not elected next month.

He is quoted as saying, “Our emphasis is unity, our emphasis is inclusive politics, but also dynamic renewal and regeneration of the organisation, democracy is not about winners and losers, it is a win-win platform so nobody will be left behind.”

Chamisa has been nominated by all 12 provinces out of the 13 party regions.

The MDC leader took over the presidential seat following the death of party founding president Morgan Tsvangirai and was subsequently endorsed by party structures for the post.

However, his rise to power infuriated former vice president Thokozani Khupe, who left the party to set up her own MDC formation. She bitterly complained that she was supposed to be the next president of the party since she was elected in the last Congress.

Chamisa’s spokesperson, Nkululeko Sibanda, Mudzuri and Mwonzora were unavailable for comment.

Mwonzora, who recently decided to pull out of the party's presidential race, may spring a surprise by winning the post of secretary general like what he did when he contested against Chamisa a few years ago.

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