MDC advisor, Brian Raftopoulos, says internal divisions too deep to reconcile

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news211205/raftopoulos211205.htm   

A leading political commentator and one of the advisors for the MDC, Professor Brian Raftopoulos, said the internal divisions are too deep to reconcile. He described the infighting in the country's main opposition party as a major tragedy for them as a party and for the people of Zimbabwe as a whole.

The crisis-ridden opposition party is in the process of  restructuring the party's 12 provinces ahead of a National Congress scheduled for February. The re-structuring was necessitated by a split in the party leadership over the recent senate elections and other procedural issues. It has now become a game of tug-of-war between the two camps in the troubled MDC as the pro-senate side is reportedly preparing to hold its own congress, a sign that neither side is recognising what the other is doing.

The dispute has had a devastating effect on the MDC's support base

Professor Raftopoulos , who is one of the people who has been trying to bring the disputing camps together, said sadly as far as he knows, these efforts have been stopped. He said the divisions are now very deep, especially as both sides are heading for separate congresses. Raftopoulos said "I would like to reiterate that this is to the detriment of the MDC and for the people of Zimbabwe who have put so much faith in this party."

Despite the fact that the fighting is between people who have all devoted their lives to opposing the Mugabe regime, the leadership continues to make serious allegations against each other. This week party President Morgan Tsvangirai alleged that ZANU PF is plotting to assassinate him and conspiring with an MDC pro-senate faction. This was followed by counter-accusations from "suspended officials", Trudy Stevenson and Paul Temba Nyathi, saying the suspensions are not valid and alleging that their president is engaging in diversionary tactics to hide his failures as head of the opposition party. Professor Raftopoulos said the assassination plot is a symptom of the distrust and bitterness that has grown out of this conflict. He believes both sides of the MDC are not going to come out of this well.

Asked whether these events signal the end of the  party as a powerful force in Zimbabwe politics, Raftopoulos said the MDC is going to be grossly weakened. "I have heard the argument that this (infighting) may be a good thing because it would lead to a strengthened MDC; I don't believe that personally. I think it is going to weaken the MDC nationally. And issues that should have been addressed: issues around accountability, the violence within the party, lack of co-ordination, lack of leadership – these issues are not going to be addressed. And I am afraid they are just going to be re-produced in any new formation that comes about".

The MDC advisor said the decision to go into the senate was a mistake which has resulted in the pro-senate camp losing a lot of political capital. "It's a cul de sac. However, the issues they raised with Mr Tsvangirai about accountability, about his so-called kitchen cabinet, about the violence within the party - these were genuine issues raised by the pro-senate faction and they were not seriously addressed by Mr Tsvangirai."

The infighting has left some asking if the MDC is capable of mobilising mass protests. Raftopoulos said at the moment it looks very grim, and it looks like there is no real strategy around mobilisation. "The infighting has drained the party and cost a lot in terms of capacity to mobilise. But for the foreseeable future I don't see any drastic actions being taken."

Opinion: The MDC crisis shows the lack of political maturity that exists within the party. MDC is only 5 years old, and already they are involved in in-fighting before they have even taken any major steps in addressing their policies as stated in their "manifesto." Instead they have spent those “teething” years trying to remove Mugabe out of power, making him their "Manifesto". And 5 years down-the-line they find themselves not having moved an inch in getting rid of Mugabe. Well I guess that is one reason that has led to frustrations and internal party divisions.  

Another issue that led to their downfall is that they have spent those 5 years going in and out of courts, arguing against the presidential and some parliamentary elections results. They should have known that they would never win those cases when the ruling party is the one in control of the legal structures within the country.    

And what is even disheartening is that the internal divisions have left millions of MDC supporters in limbo. Both factions will have to work harder to gain the trust of their supporters - well, if they still have any left. I guess Brian Raftopoulos, as mediator for the two factions, has now tasted how it must have felt for Mbeki to try and bring ZANU and MDC to the table to talk. End of Opinion

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s) and not do necessarily reflect the views of the AfricaFiles' editors and network members. They are included in our material as a reflection of a diversity of views and a variety of issues. Material written specifically for AfricaFiles may be edited for length, clarity or inaccuracies.

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