Chamisa appointed MDC-T acting president

The MDC National Council has appointed Nelson Chamisa as the party's acting president following the death of its founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai, 65, died in South africa on Wednesday after a long battle with colon cancer.

Chamisa, 40, was one of his three deputies.

The MDC-T recently entered into a coalition with former allies and other opposition parties with the view of contesting this year's harmonised elections and Mr Tsvangirai was appointed the presidential candidate for the alliance.

However, with Mr Tsvangirai's health deteriorating, the MDC-T has been rocked by divisions as senior officials among them the three party vice presidents; Nelson Chamisa, Elias Mudzuri and Thokozani Khupe are jostling to succeed Mr Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai had been facing calls to pass on the leadership of MDC-T with the calls growing louder when the party suffered defeat in the 2013 polls. Since then the party has been out-of-sorts and now with his death, the fights are expected to escalate over who will be in charge.
 
In recent days, both Mudzuri and Nelson Chamisa have claimed to hold the leadership in an acting capacity while Thokozani Khupe remains the only elected vice president and natural successor.