BELEAGURED MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) yesterday said he will not cling to power, but won’t be pushed out through clandestine moves. Staff Reporter
Tsvangirai, who was suspended by a faction led by secretary-general Tendai Biti before hitting back by expelling his foes from MDC-T, declared victory in a Workers’ Day message. He claimed Biti and his renewal team had already failed in the same way Welshman Ncube did in 2005.
“I, as Morgan Tsvangirai, will not be at the helm of the workers’ project until the cows come home,” he said.
“I will pass the baton to a new generation, but only through a democratic process called a congress and not through a boardroom coup by a few individuals outside the people process that elected us and gave us responsibility.”
He said the move to bring the MDC-T congress forward to 2014 showed that he was a democrat.
“That is the forum where leaders are elected or removed, not through clandestine and illegal gatherings of a few in boardrooms and other up-market venues,” he said.
“It is the classic case of the same script, but different actors. There was an attempt by the elite to capture the people’s struggle in 2005.
“But just as it failed then, it has failed again and we in the party shall remain focussed and united in our quest to bring everyone, indeed all committed individuals, into one big tent so that we can all unite to bring positive change in the country.”
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The united MDC split in 2005 after Tsvangirai rejected a vote by the party’s national council to take part in senatorial elections.
Biti’s group is accusing the former trade unionist of being a dictator, corrupt and tarnishing the image of the MDC-T through his numerous affairs with women. Tsvangirai said he was genuine in his calls for Zimbabwe’s opposition parties to unite and challenge Zanu PF in 2018.
“We are not discriminating anyone in our genuine quest for unity. I have publicly spoken on the need for a united front in our quest to bring back the country to legitimacy through our eight-point plan that will culminate in a free and fair election predicated on political reforms,” he said.
“Despite the betrayal by a few along the way, we retain the same faith in unity that we had when we gathered, despite our sectoral diversity, to form this great people’s movement.”
