MPs set to desert Mugabe

President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party is set to be deserted by as many as 30 senior cadres who will on Saturday register to contest next month’s general elections as independent candidates, ‘The Star’ of Johannesburg reported on Tuesday.

The parliamentary elections are scheduled for 24 and 25 June. “Speaking to ‘The Star’ on condition of anonymity for what they said were security reasons, members of the group said Mugabe had become a liability to ZANU-PF,” the paper said. “They said the party would have fared better if Mugabe had quit his post and allowed a younger leader to take the helm.”

Mugabe, 76, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, has steadfastly refused to make a public announcement about his retirement plans. He has instead enlisted the services of liberation war veterans in unleashing a systematic reign of terror on commercial farms and in rural areas, which has so far claimed at least 26 lives, it said.

“The decision by the MPs to ditch ZANU-PF would be a heavy blow, as the senior party cadres would carry with them a large number of ruling-party supporters, thereby splitting the vote in favour of opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidates,” the paper added. If they win, it said the independent candidates would inevitably align themselves with the MDC, which would bolster the party’s likely bid to push for a vote of no confidence against Mugabe in a new parliament, if the opposition wins a reasonable number of seats.