Obert Gutu, in an exclusive interview, described the expulsion of the 21, among them the Renewal Team’s secretary general, Tendai Biti, as a major event that warranted the attention of the council, the party’s supreme decision making body.
“The recall of the MPs is a significant event that we must unpack and strategise around. It has a vast array of implications for us, so we need to treat it with the seriousness it requires,” Gutu said.
The MPs, who won their seats in the 2013 elections on the Tsvangirai party’s ticket were expelled by the speaker of parliament, Jacob Mudenda, last week. The MDC-T had insisted that the Renewal Team MPs should be recalled as they had joined a new political formation, the United Movement for Democratic Change (UMDC).
Biti, in an interview with The Zimbabwean last week, said they would challenge their expulsion at the Constitutional Court.
He argued that Mudenda had no legal authority to decide who the legitimate leader of MDC was, adding that he had earlier referred the power contest to the courts. Biti’s formation still maintains that it is the one in charge of the MDC, saying it has not formed or joined any other party, the UMDC included.
Last year, the Biti faction broke away from Tsvangirai accusing him of leadership failure.
There has been speculation on whether or not MDC-T would stop its boycott of elections without sufficient electoral reforms.
Gutu said the party stuck to its stance on the boycotts but did not completely rule out the possibility of future participation in elections, especially in light of the recall. It is likely that the ruling Zanu (PF), to which the speaker belongs as a politburo member, will push for by elections in the vacant 21 seats.
“The decision not to participate in all elections before there are meaningful electoral reforms was made at our congress last year and that is remains our position.
“The only organ that can change that is the national council and it will decide when it meets within two weeks. I would not want to pre-empt what will happen when the council meets,” said Gutu.
Analysts say a continued boycott of the elections, while justified, could play into Zanu (PF)’s hands – as it would then claim the majority of the contested seats.
Jorum Gumbo, the Zanu (PF) parliamentary chief whip, said the recall of the MPs would play to his party’s advantage and expressed optimism that they would increase their majority in parliament.
“If President Mugabe decrees by-elections for the 21 seats, that will make my life as the chief whip easier. I wouldn’t have to worry about absconding MPs because the house will virtually belong to us. We are obviously going to take most if not all the seats at the by-elections. Naturally, of course, that will give me some headache because I would have more MPs to whip,” Gumbo told The Zimbabwean. Some party insiders claimed that Zanu (PF) would take advantage of the absence of the 21 to fast track changes to the constitution.
“We are going to remove most of the commissions that the 2013 constitution provides for. It will be easy for us to make wholesale changes to the constitution, which many of us have always seen as a compromise with the MDC during the GNU (Government of National Unity),” said a senior party member.
Gumbo, however, said Zanu (PF) had not adopted an official position to change the constitution yet. “Personally, I agree with finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa, that the constitution has the potential to squeeze the economy through unnecessary institutions like some of our commissions, provincial councils and the number of MPs.
“However, that is not the position of the party yet, even though I know that many of our MPs support it. In any case, why should we celebrate the recall of the MPs, considering that we have always had a majority since August 2013?” said Gumbo.
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