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Top MDC strategists meet to plan for 2008
Tichaona Sibanda, SW Radio Africa
January 04, 2008

Top strategists from the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai met in Harare on Friday and unanimously agreed the party would only take part in the joint parliamentary and presidential elections under a new constitution. This confirms recent media reports that the party was ready to boycott the elections, unless the ruling Zanu-PF party implements all the resolutions agreed to at the mediated talks. Robert Mugabe has said elections would go ahead as scheduled in March, while the opposition insists the date for the polls should be considered only after all resolutions have been fully implemented.

Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro, the MDC secretary for International Affairs, confirmed that the annual meeting of the party's top strategists dwelt at length on the issue of the forthcoming elections.

Mukonoweshuro, who could not be drawn into revealing much, conceded it was pointless to go into an election to legitimize the present government led by Mugabe. He said there was consensus among the top party members that the rules governing elections in the country were still seriously flawed.

'It's on public record now what the MDC wants before the elections can be held. If the deadlock continues, I believe it is time for SADC being the custodians of the crisis talks, to bring out the records and see who has been evasive. It's clear one party doesn't want to honour its promises,' Mukonoweshuro said.

The crisis talks have failed to make progress on resolving the stalemate over a new constitution and election date. A meeting between President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and the negotiators is being planned to try to resolve this problem.

Mukonoweshuro recently told Newsreel the opposition would never give in to Zanu-PF's demand that elections be held in March.

He again reiterated that the MDC still wants the regional bloc SADC to oversee the remaining process of thrashing out a deal.

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