Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to resign over ill health
London, Jan. 8, 2018 (AltAfrika)-Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has hinted that he will retire as head of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
In a new year statement released today, he says he is “looking at the imminent prospects of us as the older generation leaving the levers of leadership to allow the younger generation to take forward this huge task”.
It’s not quite a resignation statement, but it is the strongest indication yet that he could step down.
Mr Tsvangirai, who has been dogged by colon cancer, founded the MDC 18 years ago and it is seen as the strongest challenger to the ruling Zanu-PF party’s 38-year rule.
The 65-year-old also refers to his ongoing illness in the statement, and calls for “new hands… to take this struggle and this country forward”.
But he sets no timelines.
Zimbabwe is expected to hold elections by August, and Mr Tsvangirai has already been named as the leader of a broad coalition. Many believe without him that arrangement would crumble.
AFP
