MDC provincial elections to start tomorrow as party prepares for congress next month

Provincial elections for the Movement for Democratic Change begin in Harare tomorrow as the party prepares for its congress next month, the party said in a statement following a meeting of its national council today.

The party said the national council had agreed that:

The 14 Standing Committee members, including the President, will be directly elected by the people at Congress;

The Standing Committee has been expanded to include the position of the deputy secretary for Information and Publicity;

The secretary for elections, once the selection criteria is finalised, will also sit in the Standing Committee; and

The party will respect gender parity in line with its Constitution and will strive to ensure equal gender representation in the organs of the party.

Full statement:

Friday, 19 September 2014

Press statement: MDC National Council Resolutions, Harvest House, Harare

The MDC national council met today to deliberate on preparations of the upcoming party Congress to be held at the end of October 2014.

Today’s meeting of the National Council follows the meeting of the National Executive, which met for 11 and half hours until midnight yesterday. The executive met and debated on the reports of two Committees, one on Institutional Reform and the other on Constitutional Reforms. These committees were set up to seek members views on how the party can further refine its Constitution and enhance institutional transformation in line with our values as a democratic party.

Basing on the reports of these committees the National Executive made far reaching recommendations that were further debated by the National Council today.

Among the key resolutions made after protracted debate in line with our democratic tradition are:

(a) the 14 Standing Committee members, including the President, will be directly elected by the people at Congress.

(b) the Standing Committee has been expanded to include the position of the deputy secretary for Information and Publicity.

(c) the secretary for elections, once the selection criteria is finalised, will also sit in the Standing Committee.

(d) The party will respect gender parity in line with its Constitution and will strive to ensure equal gender representation in the organs of the party.

Our Congress preparations are going on very well and Provincial Congresses begin tomorrow with Harare province, which province will further make its own nominations for office bearers of the Standing Committee and other members of the national executive. We are gearing for our Congress where the key business will be more than just elections, even though elections are important because we are a democratic party.

The National Council also observed a minute of silence in honour and remembrance of Mr Ndanga, the provincial secretary for Mashonaland West province who perished in the disaster when a guest house collapsed at the Synagogue Church Of All Nations led by prophet TB Joshua. The party also honoured and remembered two other members who perished in an accident on their way from the party’s anniversary celebrations in Masvingo last week.

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