MDC-T Bulawayo Province Go To Congress Without Executive

The MDC T Bulawayo province was on Sunday scheduled to hold polls for the other vacant posts of the provincial executive, a week after the election of Gorden Moyo, the Parastatals Minister as Bulawayo MDC T chairman.

The elections were supposed to be held at the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) offices in Bulawayo.

However, violent clashes between feuding factions broke out before the holding of provincial assembly elections, leading to officials who were set to preside over the polls calling them off.

“There were violent clashes at the ZCTU offices where elections were supposed to be held and that is the reason why they (elections) had to be aborted.

“It is unfortunate that the election process in the province ahead of the Congress is being disrupted by some people who do not want to accept defeat,” Moyo, the recently elected Bulawayo MDCT chairman said in an interview.

The MDC T holds its Congress next week in the country’s second city.

Moyo said youths loyal to Matson Hlalo, a senator, who lost the provincial chairmanship post to Moyo, also conducted violent protests calling for the nullification of his election to the provincial chairmanship post.

Hlalo also told Radio Vop that he is challenging the election of Moyo to the provincial chairmanship post, citing vote fraud by the Parastatals Minister Moyo’s election to the provincial chairmanship post was marred by violence.

Campaigns in Bulawayo for influential positions ahead of the MDC T’s long awaited national congress have all along been characterized with violence, leading to the Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai descending in the city recently to quell divisive violent clashes between feuding factions.

Meanwhile in Chinhoyi the provincial results of the party’s elections held two weeks ago stand in limbo despite a visit by Tsvangirai here on Friday night.

Party insiders said the provincial congress had noted some irregularities.

”The view of the standing committee is that these elections were a fraud and not legitimate. Some districts were barred to attend the elections as a means to manipulate results in favour of the other side.

In Chegutu district a re-run of election was conducted by Senator Morgan Komichi during the night which was not proper. Some youths and women representatives did not attend the congress according to an insider who refused to be named for fear of victimisation. Losing faction code named Zvinguruve (Pigs) linked to organising secretary Elias Mudzuri lost out to Zvipani Declaration that is agitating to dislodge sitting MPs.

Japhet Karemba who belongs to Zvipani camp was retained as chairman and had called for harmony to rejuvinate the party. Sources said Tsvangirai and his delegates that included Mudzuri said they will look into complaints raised before the congress.

Tsvangirai is on a countrywide outreach tour to mend bridges on warring camps ahead of the congress.