Source: Mwonzora threatens to bar Khupe from using party name, symbols – NewsDay Zimbabwe
BY BLESSED MHLANGA
OPPOSITION MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora yesterday threatened to file a court application to bar his former deputy Thokozani Khupe from using the MDC name and symbols following their recent fallout.Mwonzora said the MDC-T’s national executive had recommended the dismissal of Khupe after the latter claimed two weeks ago that the party had split into two factions.
“According to her, she is now a president of a political party. We don’t know what that political party is going to be called, but definitely it is not the MDC. Therefore, Dr Khupe will not be allowed to use our name, our symbol and our party insignia,” said Mwonzora, who on Thursday received $150 million from government under the Political Parties (Finance) Act to oil the party’s campaigns for the March 26 by-elections.
“The national executive has completely rejected the declaration of a split. None of the MPs in Parliament followed her or expressed solidarity with her. The provinces have rejected the calls to split the party,” he added..
Mwonzora, who claimed to have the numbers and control of the party structures, however, could not explain how some candidates that had been selected by his party dumped him at the nomination court on Wednesday.
“We are glad to say in the National Assembly, we have managed to field 90% of the candidates. In local government elections, we have been able to field 77% of the candidates. We also had people who had submitted their papers, but they didn’t pitch up,” he said.
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