Tsvangirai accused of being petty and vindictive

There has been an outpouring of anger from different quarters over the MDC-T's stance not to participate in the by-elections in the 14 seats that fell vacant following the expulsion of MDC Renewal Team MPs from Parliament.

Many yesterday accused MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai of being "petty" and vindictive, while others felt the move had the potential to cause another split in the opposition party amid reports that rival camps have emerged over the issue.

Impeccable party sources said that the decision to push for the recall of 21 MPs and not to fight for the vacant seats had exposed the party and a serious rift had emerged in the movement.

Followers on social media said the development would weaken the MDC-T as the main opposition and given the growing animosity in the party over the developments, another split was imminent.

Analyst Takura Zhangazha, writing on his blog, said the MDC-T had acted out of anger and malice in the matter while the MDC Renewal Team had shown lack of confidence in standing alone as a political party.

It can only be argued that in its actions, the MDC-T acted largely out of anger that borders on malice as opposed to principle.

If it believes in parliamentary democracy and the new Constitution that it co-authored, it would have been a logical course of action for it to immediately then say we are still committed to representing our constituents as a party, Zhangazha said.