MDC-T accused of 'parachuting' diaspora parly candidates

A WAR is brewing in MDC-T with local parliamentary and council aspirants accusing the party leadership of neglecting them preferring foreign-based activists for the next harmonised elections.

Local aspirants are up in arms with the leadership on the matter, vowing they will not allow the party to "parachute" Diaspora candidates without engaging grassroots structures representing the majority.

Mbare senator Morgan Femai, whose constituency is reportedly targeted by United Kingdom-based former broadcaster Eric Knight, said it was unfair for such declarations to be made without consulting the lower structures.

Femai said aspiring candidates should start from the grassroots and not from the top, arguing the party had a mandate to respect its structures.

"If anybody is coming from outside, he should not come from the leadership to the lower structure.

"I don't hate anybody, but I am saying if that person does not approach anybody from the lower structures to follow procedure, he should not be entertained," Femai said.

A Harare-based councillor weighed in: "Generally, we are not happy with the coming in of people from nowhere to claim to represent the party in the election and that move is bound to create problems because we will resist them if they don't meet the criteria."

Another disgruntled party activist blasted people from the Diaspora intending to contest on behalf of the party saying: "My feeling is that people like Knight cannot just come from the Diaspora to stand (for elections), but were (obviously) invited by some people in the leadership because of their popularity, to boost the party's image.

"While we have nothing against these personalities, we do not want imposition and we will not tolerate that."

This comes at a time the MDC-T Harare provincial executive reportedly met twice last week to deliberate on the candidate selection criteria.

Jostling for positions has begun in MDC-T, especially in areas where the party is not represented.