Very little, or nothing, was done in this regard, and what we are seeing now is further trouble for the smaller faction as some of its members, including sitting MPs, are now defecting from the MDC-N to the MDC-M. So far, at least three MPs have indicated that they are loyal to Arthur Mutambara and not to the good Professor. This does not auger well for the small faction that is barely keeping its head above the water. Perhaps this is yet another urgent wake up call to the responsible leadership to take measures to get the MDC back together before it is too late.
What are the reasons for this threatening defection from the MDC-N? Well, perhaps only the defecting MPs and supporters will ever know the specific reasons for their move. Suffice it to note here that there can be several valid reasons why some of the members of this faction may feel unsafe or just unhappy with the present leadership of the MDC-N.
Virtually all the top leadership of this faction failed to win seats in Parliament in the last election. There may have been a few who won seats in the Senate, but the majority of the leadership currently in the inclusive government was appointed into their respective positions. For any sensible political party, this tends to leave a bad taste in the mouth, especially in the light of the forthcoming highly defining elections.
Secondly, MDC-N MPs may see the writing on the wall, which can be interpreted to mean that they stand little chance of winning their seats come the next election should they continue to be members of the moribund little faction. They may be fully aware that the current societal polarization effectively creates only two, and not three, nodes of political influence, viz, MDC-T and Zanu (PF).
They probably believe that remaining MDC-M loyalists ensure them security of tenure in the legislature. After all, they entered Parliament as MDC-M and not as MDC-N members in 2008. What may be even more interesting politically would be for Ago to ask the remaining MPs to show their hand and risk losing their parliamentary seats should they indicate that they are MDC-N loyalists.
The third possible reason for the recent defections may be that the MDC-M is merely being used as a safe parking bay while waiting to defect to the MDC-T as soon as Parliament is dissolved in preparation for the forthcoming elections. These members will obviously be aware that neither the MDC-N nor the MDC-M will have a chance of winning any seats in the forthcoming elections. The continuation of their political careers depends on whether they rejoin the MDC-T or not.
So what can the beleaguered faction leader do to remedy this debilitating situation that his party is facing? As noted earlier, the best approach is to explore ways of re-uniting the two major factions of the MDC as soon as possible, at any rate, before the next elections are called. Ncube could also try and approach such other political parties as Zapu, MDC99 and the usual Nda, Nde, Ndus that often come up for air around election times. He could also have a chat with Dzinemunhenzva and promise him the position of deputy president of the amalgamated political party. Things are certainly falling apart, and the centre can no longer hold for MDC-N.
Post published in: Opinions & Analysis