by Political Reporter
The MDC-T Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora has moved a step closer to the MDC-T presidency after that party’s structures across the country expressed their support for him to take over the reigns from the late Morgan Tsvangirai.
The Harare Post learnt that Mwonzora had been on a whirlwind tour of the provinces interacting with the MDC-T 2014 structures soliciting for votes ahead of the extra ordinary congress penciled for this month.
A contact within the MDC-T confided in this reporter that this past weekend, Mwonzora met with MDC-T structures in Manicaland and Masvingo Provinces, where he was promised overwhelming support by the members.
The contact further said that among the presidential contestants, Mwonzora was likely to garner more votes as he had proved over the years that he is a political strategist and a shrewd politician.
“If you look at the contestants, Mwonzora clearly stands ahead of others in terms of support. He has proved to be a good political strategist and a unifier. Everyone knows that during the 2013 constitution making process, Mwonzora managed to advance the party’s position against ZANU PF. The manner Mwonzora presented himself during the Government of National Unity (GNU) and his record as the SG of the party shows that he is more than capable to take over the leadership reigns of the MDC-T,” said the source.
Same source further revealed that it appears Mwonzora is also gaining support from some members of the MDC-Alliance who are willing to ditch Nelson Chamisa and join hands with Mwonzora.
“Mwonzora has been inundated by calls from MDC-Alliance members who want to rejoin the party. These members see Mwonzora as a mature and visionary leader than Chamisa. If Mwonzora wins the presidency, as likely going to happen, we will see more people trooping from the MDC-Alliance to join the MDC T,” added the source.
An MDC-T member in Manicaland Province said they had resolved as a Province to back Mwonzora for the presidency.
“We are supporting Mwonzora because he is more democratic than other contestants. He is even more democratic than Chamisa. People should know that what caused friction in the MDC is that Chamisa hand-picked his cronies to represent the party in 2018 election, while sidelining seasoned members of the party.
“Chamisa went on to accommodate G40 members like Shadreck Mashayamombe, Jeppy Jaboon, and Kudakwashe Bhasikiti into the party and he is taking advice from divisive elements like Jonathan Moyo. It’s better to support Mwonzora who has promised to carry on the legacy of Tsvangirai instead of supporting people who do not have the party at heart,” said the member.
Another MDC-T member in Masvingo said it was only a matter of time before Mwonzora became the substantive president of that party. He said Mwonzora endeared himself with the people after he promised to distribute agricultural inputs to them for free.
The Masvingo member further said that the people of province pledged to support Mwonzora after he had promised to carry on Tsvangirai’s vision of a united opposition that is sensitive to the plight of the poor.
“Mwonzora is there to carry on Tsvangirai’s vision and we will support him for that. If you read your history very correctly, you would agree with me that most people who became State Presidents were former Secretary Generals of their parties just like the late Robert Mugabe, Cyril Ramaphosa and even Tsvangirai was the Secretary General of ZCTU before he became MDC president. So Mwonzora is on the right track,” he said.
The MDC-T is expected to hold an extra ordinary congress this month to elect a leader who will replace the late Tsvangirai who succumbed to cancer of the colon in 2018. Currently, Thokozani Khupe is the interim president and is also contesting for that party’s presidency alongside Elias Mudzuri, Morgan Komichi and Mwonzora.
