WASHINGTON DC —
The leader of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, left for Britain on Tuesday for his first trip to the West after the July 31st elections.
It is still not clear if Mr. Tsvangirai will meet British government officials.
Tsvangirai’s aides said he will attend an economic forum at Oxford University and also meet his party members on the sidelines of the discussions.
The subject of Mr. Tsvangirai’s leadership is expected to be tackled as some supporters in the diaspora say they have been alarmed by calls for him to step down after the elections.
Tsvangirai’s spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka said Tsvangirai will talk about diamond revenues.
Exiled senior MDC-T official Roy Bennett has previously called for a new leadership of the party, suggesting that Tsvangirai's continued stay in power did not reflect the will of the people. Bennett appears to be at odds with the rest of the MDC-T's top brass, who have endorsed the opposition leader.
But Tsvangirai has blamed President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF for allegedly rigging the elections saying the elections’ credibility was marred by “administrative and legal violations which affect the legitimacy of its outcome,.”
He also called the polls a “sham election that does not reflect the will of the people."
It is still not clear if Mr. Tsvangirai will meet British government officials.
Tsvangirai’s aides said he will attend an economic forum at Oxford University and also meet his party members on the sidelines of the discussions.
The subject of Mr. Tsvangirai’s leadership is expected to be tackled as some supporters in the diaspora say they have been alarmed by calls for him to step down after the elections.
Tsvangirai’s spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka said Tsvangirai will talk about diamond revenues.
Exiled senior MDC-T official Roy Bennett has previously called for a new leadership of the party, suggesting that Tsvangirai's continued stay in power did not reflect the will of the people. Bennett appears to be at odds with the rest of the MDC-T's top brass, who have endorsed the opposition leader.
But Tsvangirai has blamed President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF for allegedly rigging the elections saying the elections’ credibility was marred by “administrative and legal violations which affect the legitimacy of its outcome,.”
He also called the polls a “sham election that does not reflect the will of the people."