Origins and rise The MDC began after the People's Working Convention in February 1999. In February 2000,
Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), led by
Robert Mugabe organized a constitutional referendum. The proposed change would have limited future presidents to two terms, but as it was not retroactive, Mugabe could have stood for another two terms. It would also have made his government and military officials immune from prosecution for any illegal acts committed while in office. Additionally, it legalized the confiscation of land owned by white people for redistribution to black farmers without compensation. The MDC led opposition to the referendum, in which the government was ultimately defeated, after a low 20% turnout, by a strong urban vote fueled by an effective
SMS campaign. Mugabe declared that he would "abide by the will of the people". The vote was a surprise to ZANU-PF, and an embarrassment before parliamentary elections due in mid-April. This success fueled the rise of the MDC. In the 2000 parliamentary elections, the MDC won 57 of the 120 seats up for election. This marked the first time that an opposition party had achieved more than a handful of seats since the merger of ZANU and ZAPU in 1988. The MDC dominated in most urban centres and
Matabeleland. MDC won all seats in the two biggest cities,
Harare and
Bulawayo and lost only two in Matabeleland. This election was viewed by international observers from the
Commonwealth of Nations and
Norwegian and
South African parliamentary delegations declared the election not being free and fair. The MDC claimed the elections were rigged, citing state-sponsored violence and some voter results figures that were unaccounted for. They took the matter to court. Some missions from Mugabe's allies such as the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) observers and the South African Ministerial Observer team held that the election was substantially free and fair. In 2004, opposition offices in
Bulawayo were raided by police officers, armed with search warrants, looking for illegal documents and weapons.
Growing tensions During Morgan Tsvangirai's
treason trial, pressure built up within the party due to the possibility that Tsvangirai would be imprisoned. There were allegedly rumors of a faction desiring an
Ndebele president,
Secretary General Welshman Ncube (now Secretary General of the Mutambara led Movement for Democratic Change) to replace Tsvangirai, as well as rumors of tribal prejudice on the other side.
David Coltart however, claimed that people who believed this "are being deliberately mischievous or simply do not understand basic political reality in Zimbabwe"
Split It is widely believed that the split was a reflection of problems that had been in the party for a while but manipulated by the CIO. The issue which eventually led to the splitting of the party was the decision on whether or not to participate in the
2005 Zimbabwe senatorial elections. The MDC had announced during mid-2004 that it would not participate in any further elections in Zimbabwe, until it believed a free and fair vote could take place. However on 3 February 2005, then spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi told a news conference, "It is with a heavy heart that the MDC has decided to participate in the elections ... This is a decision based primarily on the demands of our people". The MDC's top six were unable to agree on the issue, and so the debate went down to the MDC National Council on October 12. They voted 33-31 in favor of contesting the election (with two spoiled papers). However, Morgan Tsvangirai told the press that the debate was tied at 50-50, which included proxies sent by
Sekai Holland and
Grace Kwinjeh, alleging that these were not recognised by Ncube, giving him different inaccurate figures. Morgan Tsvangirai overruled the vote, arguing that it was no use contesting an election where the electoral field "breeds illegitimate outcomes and provides for predetermined results." He argued that the
Senate of Zimbabwe was part of the 17th amendment, which the MDC had opposed in Parliament. "Well you have voted, and you have voted to participate, which as you know is against my own wish. In the circumstances I can no longer continue……No I cannot let you participate in this senate election when I believe that it is against the best interests of the party. I am President of this party. I am therefore going out of this and (will) announce to the world that the MDC will not participate in this election. If the party breaks so be it. I will answer to congress." Another letter was written to Tsvangirai on the same day, indicating that he had been suspended from office by the National Disciplinary Committee, while he maintained the right to appeal the decision. Tsvangirai claimed in response that the pro-senate group had not carried out proper provincial consultations. He also argued against claims that he was not respecting the founding values of the MDC by saying that his position on the senate expressed the will of the people, and that he should therefore be given power to make decisions. He also struck out against the supporters of participation, saying that they were planning a new "Unity Accord" and betraying the people of Matebeleland like
Joshua Nkomo in the 1990s, and accused the Ncube faction of trying to get rid of him so that the new MDC could become puppets of
Robert Mugabe. "Even if I am left alone, I will not betray the contract I made with the people. The issue that is there is not about the senate only. It is about whether you want to confront Mugabe or you want to compromise with Mugabe. Some of us are now working towards a new unity accord. We are saying ‘no’ to unity accord number two. With us there is no unity accord....we will not do what Nkomo did." Tsvangirai believed that there was little point in participating in elections in the current political situation in Zimbabwe, as the results, according to him, were certain to be rigged. Welshman Ncube however, declared that the only way of beating Zanu-PF was through elections, and there was no point in boycotting the elections just because of allegations that they were not free and fair. Discussions in February 2006 confirmed the existence of what Ncube called a "mafia kitchen cabinet", a growth in youth violence, conflict and competition for the office of president and the resulting lack of implementation of party policies. Tsvangirai also considered
South African President
Thabo Mbeki's
mediation attempts as "destructive" and continued to deny tribal discrimination within the party. He was also irate over the
Central Intelligence Organization's infiltration of the MDC and claimed that this was a deliberate attempt by Zanu-PF to divide the party. A compromise was proposed at the end of the first meeting, which would result in the pro-senate faction withdrawing from the election. However, the Management Committee would attempt to remove the "kitchen cabinet" and parallel structure. Thirdly, public
recriminations would have to stop while the leadership drew up a program to help the party move forward. The compromise was however, refuted by both sides, with Tsvangirai unable to make a commitment on the subject of his aides, and the pro-senate faction unable to agree not to contest the Senate election at the second mediation meeting. After the Senate elections, the MDC split into two groups: one led by Morgan Tsvangirai, and another by his deputy
Gibson Sibanda with the support of
Welshman Ncube,
Gift Chimanikire and spokesperson
Paul Themba Nyathi. The pro-Senate group had one more member in the House of Assembly at the time of the split, however senior members of the pro-Senate faction subsequently defected to MDC-T led by Tsvangirai including its
Chairman Gift Chimanikire, Blessing Chebundo, the Member of Parliament for
Kwekwe, the Environmental Secretary and
Binga Member of Parliament
Joel Gabuza, and Senate Candidate for Tsholotsho
Sam Sipepa Nkomo. Although the pro-senate faction had the bulk of its support in Matabeleland, the party chose the Shona academic
Arthur Mutambara to lead their party. ==Central Intelligence Organisation infiltration attempt==