News / National
Aspiring MPs dump MDC-T
26 Apr 2013 at 03:25hrs | Views
TWO MDC-T aspiring Members of Parliament who wanted to contest the Zvishavane-Ngezi constituency have dumped the party with one of them joining the Professor Welshman Ncube-led formation while the other has decided to contest as an independent.
The move comes amid revelations that the MDC-T, which is riddled with factionalism within its Zvishavane District structures has disqualified other candidates who wanted to contest the Zvishavane-Ngezi constituency and imposed Zvishavane businessman, Mr Timevious Acropol.
Mr Acropol is the husband to Mrs Lillian Acropol, who is the party's Midlands South provincial chairperson.
Sources within the MDC-T said the party resolved to disqualify other candidates who had filed their nomination papers to avoid the chaos that characterised the 2008 elections in the same district.
The sources said Mr Leopold Mudisi, a former area public prosecutor for Zvishavane and Mr Ernest Gumbo, who was once MDC-T district treasurer, were interested in contesting the Zvishavane-Ngezi constituency, but have since dumped the party after they were disqualified.
Mr Gumbo confirmed the development and said he will now contest the same seat under the Prof Ncube- led MDC.
Mr Mudisi, however, was evasive on the issue when contacted for comment yesterday.
Mr Gumbo said he decided to join Prof Ncube's MDC after he lost patience with the undemocratic MDC-T. "I have been patient since joining the MDC-T in 1999, but I decided to call it quits this time around because it has become clear that this party is a personalised project. I have been blocked from contesting the MDC-T elections for years now and it's high time I joined (the other) MDC which has democratic principles. It is the vision of a democratic Zimbabwe that led to the formation of MDC in 1999," said Mr Gumbo.
He said MDC has already accepted him as the candidate for the Zvishavane-Ngezi seat.
"I have got a number of people who sympathise with me and have joined me in our search for true democracy and we believe I will win the seat," he said.
Mr Mudisi said it was premature to comment on the matter as he was still engaging party officials at national level. "Yes I was disqualified but I have lodged an appeal with the party's national executive. The matter is still before the national executive and it would be premature for me to say I will stand as an independent candidate," he said.
However, MDC-T Midlands South provincial spokesperson, Mr James Tsuro said the party was not worried by the defections.
He said the MDC-T was a people's project and will not be affected by defections.
"The MDC-T is a people's project and we will not lose sleep because Mudisi or Gumbo have decided to join other political parties. Most of the people who are now senior members in the MDC-T came from Zanu-PF but up to day Zanu-PF is still there. There is therefore nothing amiss when people decide otherwise politically," he said.
Meanwhile, MDC-T Zvishavane district is the only district operating without an elected executive after elections were abandoned more than five times following the eruption of violence among party supporters.
Mr Tsuro said the party suspended the holding of elections in the district and will only conduct district elections after the harmonised elections.
"We are concentrating on the harmonised elections and will only conduct Zvishavane district elections later," he said.
The move comes amid revelations that the MDC-T, which is riddled with factionalism within its Zvishavane District structures has disqualified other candidates who wanted to contest the Zvishavane-Ngezi constituency and imposed Zvishavane businessman, Mr Timevious Acropol.
Mr Acropol is the husband to Mrs Lillian Acropol, who is the party's Midlands South provincial chairperson.
Sources within the MDC-T said the party resolved to disqualify other candidates who had filed their nomination papers to avoid the chaos that characterised the 2008 elections in the same district.
The sources said Mr Leopold Mudisi, a former area public prosecutor for Zvishavane and Mr Ernest Gumbo, who was once MDC-T district treasurer, were interested in contesting the Zvishavane-Ngezi constituency, but have since dumped the party after they were disqualified.
Mr Gumbo confirmed the development and said he will now contest the same seat under the Prof Ncube- led MDC.
Mr Mudisi, however, was evasive on the issue when contacted for comment yesterday.
Mr Gumbo said he decided to join Prof Ncube's MDC after he lost patience with the undemocratic MDC-T. "I have been patient since joining the MDC-T in 1999, but I decided to call it quits this time around because it has become clear that this party is a personalised project. I have been blocked from contesting the MDC-T elections for years now and it's high time I joined (the other) MDC which has democratic principles. It is the vision of a democratic Zimbabwe that led to the formation of MDC in 1999," said Mr Gumbo.
He said MDC has already accepted him as the candidate for the Zvishavane-Ngezi seat.
"I have got a number of people who sympathise with me and have joined me in our search for true democracy and we believe I will win the seat," he said.
Mr Mudisi said it was premature to comment on the matter as he was still engaging party officials at national level. "Yes I was disqualified but I have lodged an appeal with the party's national executive. The matter is still before the national executive and it would be premature for me to say I will stand as an independent candidate," he said.
However, MDC-T Midlands South provincial spokesperson, Mr James Tsuro said the party was not worried by the defections.
He said the MDC-T was a people's project and will not be affected by defections.
"The MDC-T is a people's project and we will not lose sleep because Mudisi or Gumbo have decided to join other political parties. Most of the people who are now senior members in the MDC-T came from Zanu-PF but up to day Zanu-PF is still there. There is therefore nothing amiss when people decide otherwise politically," he said.
Meanwhile, MDC-T Zvishavane district is the only district operating without an elected executive after elections were abandoned more than five times following the eruption of violence among party supporters.
Mr Tsuro said the party suspended the holding of elections in the district and will only conduct district elections after the harmonised elections.
"We are concentrating on the harmonised elections and will only conduct Zvishavane district elections later," he said.
Source - chronicle
