Dr Tapiwa Mashakada | Up until the National Council meeting that put Nelson Chamisa at the helm of the party in an acting capacity as MDC leader, there had been serious contestation regarding the question who is Acting President. The National Council put to rest that lacuna. The party now has a legal Acting President called Nelson Chamisa. This is according to the MDC constitution which says that in between Congresses the National Council is the decision making body and its resolutions are binding.

Now the Secretary General is suggesting that we must follow the constitution by going to a Congress to resolve what he conceives as a leadership dispute. I hereby argue that between Now and elections in July it is not possible to hold a Congress in terms of the Constitution. The Constitution provides timelines for the cascading of pre-congress restructuring of party organs. Congresses must be held from branch ward district up to provincial levels and a mandatory notice time line of 2 months is provided for all these mini-congresses of party structures.. I therefore argue that a normal congress can only be constitutionally convened in December 2018 at the very earliest.
Now I come to the Extra Ordinary Congress. It is only the National Council which can resolve that an extra-ordinary Comgress be held. Now the same National Council resolved that Neslson Chamisa will act for 12 months and this is constitutional. In the circumstances, it is only Nelson Chamisa who can summon National Council and request for an extra-ordinary Congress citing whatever reasons he may deem fit. As it stands no other person can constitutionally call for a congress. In this regard this is why National Standing Committee members must cooperate and not confront Nelson Chamisa inorder to appeal to Chamisa to call for an extraordinary congress ( of course through National Council). This is necessary because at present Chamisa is backed by the MDC Constitution which through the National Council, vested powers in him to act as President of the MDC for 12 months. The implication is that any national election eg General Election that the party decides to contest Nelson Chamisa shall stand as the candidate unless National Council revokes its earlier decision.