Factions expected to fight over MDC name

The two factions of the Zimbabwean opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) could engage in a war of attrition over the ownership of the organisation's name and assets, some party office bearers are predicting. After most voters responded to Tsvangirai's call to boycott the weekend senate elections, MDC officials said the factions were positioning themselves to wrest control of the party's assets. Except for Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, where pro-senate faction candidates swept all the seats, other MDC strongholds, like the capital, Harare, and Matabeleland North and South provinces, heeded Tsvangirai's call to boycott the elections. Even in one of the constituencies in Bulawayo with a registered 75,000 voters, the winning MDC candidate managed just under 2,000 votes. On Monday the ruling ZANU-PF seemed set to win an overwhelming majority, bagging 21 out of the 31 contested seats in the results declared so far, while the rift in the MDC deepened. The MDC's pro-senate faction announced that vice-president Gibson Sibanda had suspended Tsvangirai last week on Thursday, after a disciplinary committee allegedly found him guilty of violating the party's constitution by issuing a call to boycott the poll. "Mr Tsvangirai is suspended from performing any functions as MDC leader and will not be allowed to hold meetings under the MDC banner. He has also been barred from visiting MDC offices, including Harvest House [the party's headquarters] and is to surrender all MDC property except two vehicles issued for his personal use," Sibanda, who chairs the disciplinary committee of the MDC, told journalists. However, other committee members disputed Sibanda's account and said they were unaware of a formal meeting having taken place. Tsvangirai told IRIN on Sunday that his suspension was unconstitutional. "The attempt to suspend me is an unfortunate disaster by my colleagues in the struggle. Their actions indicate that they are desperate for power and ... will only play into the hands of the government, which wants to see the MDC weak and divided." Tsvangirai said only the party's congress, expected to be held in February, had the power to suspend him. However, Gift Chimanikire, the MDC's deputy secretary-general, who is in the pro-senate camp, said the disciplinary committee could suspend anybody, including the president. "Nobody is above the law, and we will not allow another dictator to emerge from our ranks," he asserted. Senior MDC officials in the pro-senate camp told IRIN that if Tsvangirai did not abide by the terms of the suspension, they would seek relief in court. "We are simply going to ask for the protection of the courts if Tsvangirai does not abide by the suspension." There is a perception among political observers that the judges, some of whom are sympathetic to the ruling party, would grant the use of the party's name and emblem to the less popular pro-senate faction to further destabilise the opposition. Hundreds of MDC supporters in Harare thronged Harvest House on Monday saying they wanted to ensure that Tsvangirai was not hindered from working there. Some told IRIN that the pro-senate faction would not be allowed to set foot at the Harare offices.