News / National
Tsvangirai on whirlwind tour, readies for explosive congress
19 Jul 2014 at 06:53hrs | Views
MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai is on a whirlwind tour of the Midlands and Matabeleland as he readies his party for a potentially explosive congress in October.
Tsvangirai will be in Bulawayo today to meet structures to explain the process leading to the congress. Yesterday he met the Midlands South and North structures behind closed doors in Gweru and Kwekwe respectively.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said Tsvangirai was unveiling the congress template whose major highlight was to set minimum conditions for conducting the elective congress.
"We are moving in all the provinces to explain the template in terms of which the congress is going to be held," he said.
"This template contains the code of conduct and the qualifications of members who are going to vote and those who will be voted, but most importantly we are emphasising that every position at congress will be contested."
Mwonzora said under the template, anyone wanting to contest for any position in the party should have served for at least two years at a lower level.
"For one to qualify for a position in an organ, he or she must have served at least two years in a lower organ," he said.
"This is to say if a person wants to go to the provincial council, he or she must have served for two years in the district and if they want to contest in the national executive, they must have served for at least two years in the provincial council."
He also said all MDC-T members who contested in the last general elections as independent candidates would not be allowed to contest for any position in the party at the October congress.
"We have also defined a few offences, which include vote-buying, violence and other malpractices," Mwonzora said.
"If anyone is found guilty of these, they are automatically disqualified."
The MDC-T said elections at district, provincial and national executive would be conducted by an independent body and not party members.
Mwonzora said as part of a transparent ballot, the party would release a voters' roll for all elections in advance to ensure that rogue members are not allowed to participate in the polls.
He said Tsvangirai was also aware that some members within the party were labelling those who are likely to challenge them at congress as members of the renewal faction in a bid to gain an advantage.
"In the MDC-T, being labelled a renewal (member) indeed is a kiss of death. In other words it's a form of competitive disadvantage and we are aware that there are some people who want to label others and we are going to take stern action against those people," he said.
MDC-T supporters in Gweru chanted in praises for Tsvangirai when he emerged from the Midlands Hotel where he had attended a provincial assembly meeting.
Mwonzora had on Wednesday told Southern Eye that Tsvangirai's meeting in Bulawayo would be part of the programme to update structures ahead of the congerss.
Tsvangirai will be in Bulawayo today to meet structures to explain the process leading to the congress. Yesterday he met the Midlands South and North structures behind closed doors in Gweru and Kwekwe respectively.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said Tsvangirai was unveiling the congress template whose major highlight was to set minimum conditions for conducting the elective congress.
"We are moving in all the provinces to explain the template in terms of which the congress is going to be held," he said.
"This template contains the code of conduct and the qualifications of members who are going to vote and those who will be voted, but most importantly we are emphasising that every position at congress will be contested."
Mwonzora said under the template, anyone wanting to contest for any position in the party should have served for at least two years at a lower level.
"For one to qualify for a position in an organ, he or she must have served at least two years in a lower organ," he said.
"This is to say if a person wants to go to the provincial council, he or she must have served for two years in the district and if they want to contest in the national executive, they must have served for at least two years in the provincial council."
"We have also defined a few offences, which include vote-buying, violence and other malpractices," Mwonzora said.
"If anyone is found guilty of these, they are automatically disqualified."
The MDC-T said elections at district, provincial and national executive would be conducted by an independent body and not party members.
Mwonzora said as part of a transparent ballot, the party would release a voters' roll for all elections in advance to ensure that rogue members are not allowed to participate in the polls.
He said Tsvangirai was also aware that some members within the party were labelling those who are likely to challenge them at congress as members of the renewal faction in a bid to gain an advantage.
"In the MDC-T, being labelled a renewal (member) indeed is a kiss of death. In other words it's a form of competitive disadvantage and we are aware that there are some people who want to label others and we are going to take stern action against those people," he said.
MDC-T supporters in Gweru chanted in praises for Tsvangirai when he emerged from the Midlands Hotel where he had attended a provincial assembly meeting.
Mwonzora had on Wednesday told Southern Eye that Tsvangirai's meeting in Bulawayo would be part of the programme to update structures ahead of the congerss.
Source - Southern Eye
