Maravi

MDC factions renew differences

MDC factions renew differences
By Kingsley Kaswende in Harare
Monday January 28, 2008 [12:39]

The two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have renewed their differences following President Robert Mugabe’s announcement of the March 29 election date. With exactly 60 days left before the polls, the two factions of the largest opposition party are deepening their already existing cracks by disagreeing over many issues, including whether or not to participate or boycott the elections.

In a Presidential proclamation last Friday, President Mugabe set the polling date as Saturday, March 29, 2008. Parliament will be dissolved on March 28 and the presidential nomination day is Friday, February 8, 2008.

Nelson Chamisa, spokesperson for the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC, said their National Council would be meeting urgently to decide whether to participate in the polls.

The issue of election has been high on the agenda of the SADC-initiated talks aimed at brokering truce between MDC and the ruling ZANU-PF.

The Tsvangirai-led MDC has been saying it does not want to hold elections in the first 100 days of this year, arguing that it needs more time to organise itself after the government agreed to amend the notorious public order and media laws, which the factions says were disadvantaging them.

The faction is also demanding a new constitution before the elections. Chamisa said President Mugabe had spat the SADC talks in the face by going ahead to announce the election date. He blasted Mugabe's announcement as arrogant and disrespectful of the SADC dialogue.

“He (President Mugabe) has spat in the face of SADC and he has shown contempt for the idea that there should be African solutions for African problems," Chamisa said.

But he added that it was inconceivable and unimaginable to talk of any elections being anything other than a farce under the current conditions. However, Gabriel Chaibva, spokesperson for the Professor Arthur Mutambara-led faction of the MDC, said that their faction would “definitely” participate in the elections.

Mutambara has already declared his intention to stand in the election side by side Tsvangirai. Chaibva welcomed the election date and said his faction believed that government had complied with all the legal requirements, and the amendments agreed to at the SADC talks had passed through parliament.

Challenged over President Mugabe's refusal to adopt a new Constitution, Chaibva said: "Whenever you are in negotiations it is a give and take." He also defended the police crackdown on the MDC march on Wednesday, saying that there were issues of safety at stake.

MDC split in October 2005 over whether the party would hold senate elections, which some wanted to participate in while others boycotted. The two factions are, however, expected to meet this week to attempt to reconcile their polarised positions.

Labels: MDC, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 2:06 PM