MDC to fight poll delay

HARARE - Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said yesterday his party would start preparing for the 2008 presidential elections, and would call on Zimbabweans to support a campaign of strikes and civil disobedience until Zanu (PF) abandons its project of making a "life president" out

of Robert Mugabe by pushing the presidential elections to 2010.

Morgan Tsvangirai
Tsvangirai told a press briefing that his party’s policy-making bodies, the National Executive and the National Council, had unanimously resolved that the 2010 project and Mugabe’s obsession with power retention needed to be resisted.
“The MDC leadership believe the time to act is now,” Tsvangirai said. “We vowed to pursue the struggle, in line with our Congress mandate, by mobilizing the people to stop Mugabe from becoming a life president and from tinkering with the Constitution in order to perpetuate his rule to 2010.”
MDC insiders said mass action could begin as early as tomorrow, or February “after pay day”. The opposition says there will be a change in tactics, but has so far refused to disclose what this means.
There was no immediate comment available from Zimbabwe’s shadowy Central Intelligence Organisation, or from Sydney Sekeramayi, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces minister. But Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa responded with an ominous warning earlier this week that security forces would resist the MDC push with force.
The MDC leader said his party had also resolved to launch a massive diplomatic offensive to enlist the support of key regional and international bodies.
“The execution of our programme in 2007 will demand strong and visible international relations activities,” Tsvangirai said. “It is high time the Zimbabwean question became the key focus of attention in SADC, the African Union and the United Nations. Our international relations department, together with our partners in the Save Zimbabwe Campaign will in 2007 execute a vigorous international relations campaign that articulates the national crisis and our roadmap.” – Own correspondent

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