Zimbabwe Standard
Letter to the Editor

I AM disturbed by the antics of Arthur Mutambara. In the few weeks he has been in mainstream politics, Mutambara has already messed up big time.

This is surprising coming from someone who is very educated. Maybe this is proof that true leadership is not based on intellectual prowess but on good character. A good leader must be consistent, honest, humble and respectful. Indeed it is these traits that have made people like Mother Theresa and Nelson Mandela icons.

Unfortunately, Mutambara has patently exhibited lack of these qualities since he was appointed leader of the MDC pro-Senate faction. He has positioned himself as a unifier of the two MDC factions. I expect this role to be carried out by neutrals such as church organizations, Crisis Coalition of Zimbabwe and the National Constitutional Assembly.

Mutambara is far from being an honest broker, for he harbours an intention to become President of a united MDC. Therefore, to him the pro-Senate faction is a mere stepping-stone to the fulfillment of his dream. Viewed this way, his association with Welshman Ncube and others is not sincere. It is actually opportunistic.

The clean man here is David Coltart, who has chosen to remain non-aligned so that both camps can hear him. In his acceptance speech, Mutambara publicly distanced himself from his benefactors. It is on record that the faction he now leads has been lampooning and vilifying Morgan Tsvangirai since the 12 October fallout.

Now, for him to describe Tsvangirai as his hero and, furthermore, to declare his anti-Senate stance on a pro-Senate stage is as good as biting the hand that feeds him. I would have expected Mutambara to privately convince his colleagues of his position so that they speak with one voice.

At the Bulawayo congress there was no such unison taking into consideration Gibson Sibanda’s vitriol against Tsvangirai. If Mutambara had consulted his colleagues first, he would have demonstrated the sincerity of his claim that had he been a member of the then MDC National Council, he would have tried hard to convince fellow members of the weight of his position and, on failing to do so, he would have stuck with the majority decision at the expense of his own opinion.

It therefore appears that Mutambara conveniently uttered that statement in order to project himself as more democratic than Tsvangirai.

Mutambara calls himself “untainted” and hence suitable to take over the reins of opposition power. This is a “holier-than-thou” attitude. It smacks of total disrespect for those who went ahead of him in fighting against the oppressive system in Zimbabwe.

I find Mutambara’s anti-imperialism rhetoric nauseating, especially coming from someone with such international exposure. His stance is anachronistic at a time of globalisation and international partnerships such as Nepad. I quote Dr Simba Makoni: “The world does not need Zimbabwe. It is Zimbabwe who needs the world.”

Once again, it is obvious that Mutambara’s obsession with imperialism is personal and hence not representative of his constituency. So much for his democratic credentials! The pro-Senate faction should rein in its President now to avoid further embarrassment.

I have also read that Mutambara was recently on the rampage, vowing to “destroy” Tsvangirai. This is the height of inconsistency further entrenching the view that the man is arrogant and power-hungry. Why spew venom against your own “hero”?

We have had enough of people like President Robert Mugabe and Professor Jonathan Moyo who use their intelligence for self-aggrandisement. History must not keep on repeating itself. Taneta!

Max Makoni
Harare

Zimbabwe Independent

Both MDC factions are set to face off in the Budiriro by-election following indications that they will field rival candidates for the poll slated for May 20, in clear evidence that their split is final.

The fielding of competing candidates by the two factions is most likely to split the opposition vote in the urban constituency and hand Zanu PF an unearned victory.

The constituency fell vacant following the death of MDC MP Gilbert Shoko last month. The nomination court for the poll will sit on April 21.

Sources said this week the anti-senate faction was likely to field former Harare mayor and recently elected national organising secretary, Elias Mudzuri, as their candidate.

It was not immediately clear who was going to stand on the pro-senate faction’s ticket.

The faction’s secretary-general Welshman Ncube yesterday confirmed that his camp would be fielding a candidate, a departure from the last election when the feuding sides refrained from competing against each other.

The strategy saw the anti-senate faction losing the Chegutu mayoral and Chitungwiza council polls while the pro-senate camp lost ward elections in Bulawayo to Zanu PF.

Anti-senate faction spokesperson Nelson Chamisa yesterday would not commit himself on their likely candidate.

“As of now I cannot talk about who is going to stand. The candidate will emerge from the internal process. Leaders come from a combination of wards and districts in Budiriro,” said Chamisa.

Revelations of the factions squaring up in Budiriro and this week’s court case that saw the High Court ordering the anti-senate camp to return a vehicle seized from their rivals, is likely to put to nought efforts by the MDC’s secretary for legal affairs David Coltart to reconcile the two sides.

The Bulawayo lawyer yesterday said: “I think now the chances of reconciliation are minimal but both sides still need to negotiate regarding the split.” The negotiations centre around party property, logos and court appeals.

New Zimbabwe

Movement for Democratic Change peace maker David Coltart has said that chances of a reconciliation between the party’s feuding factions are now “very minimal” following the latest round of legal battles.

Coltart had proposed a five-point plan for possible negotiations for reunification or amicable divorce between the feuding parties.

In a letters written to Morgan Tsvangirai and his former deputy, Gibson Sibanda, now a member of a rival faction on February 20, the Bulawayo South MP expressed opposition and warned of the dangers of matters between the two parties being settled in the courts.

Coltart warned in his letter: “If the Zimbabwean courts are entrusted with the role of settling these issues that will itself play into the hands of the Mugabe regime. If both factions cannot agree to settle these disputes they will in essence give the regime the power to decide through the courts how long they want this conflict to go on for and who ultimately they want to deal with.

“I have no doubt that the spectacle of opposition leaders fighting each other in court and wrangling over names and assets will greatly diminish those same politicians in the eyes of the Zimbabwean electorate.”

This week, a faction of the MDC led by former NASA scientist, Professor Arthur Mutambara took Tsvangirai’s group to court over a party vehicle which was violently seized in Harare. A High Court judge granted an order for the car to be returned.

On Thursday, Coltart said: “The Zimbabwean public is not impressed by the spectre of the MDC fighting in the courts. I think the chances of reconciliation are now very minimal. The parties still have to meet on how the divorce should take place.”

The MDC split last November over a contentious debate around the party’s participation in senate elections. Tsvangirai opposed participation, while some of his senior colleagues felt otherwise and when the two groups couldn’t reconcile their positions, a split became inevitable.

The Herald
Herald Reporter

THE House of Assembly yesterday ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption which seek to provide a legal framework for curbing the vice at global and regional levels.

Minister of State for State Enterprises, Anti-Monopolies and Anti-Corruption Cde Paul Mangwana told the House that the two conventions were pivotal in enhancing global and regional cooperation against corruption. He was moving a motion for the ratification of the conventions. The minister said corruption required zero tolerance hence it must be confronted and eradicated at all costs. “We need to ratify these conventions in order to usher our country into the global fight against corruption. We need to restore hope and remove fear from our people,” he said. Corruption, Cde Mangwana said, was a threat to national stability as some foreign elements could sponsor opposition parties through dubious means, adding that tolerance for corruption could lead to a self-induced regime change. He said the Government had also ratified the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Protocol against Corruption and had set up the Anti-Corruption Commission as part of its efforts to effectively deal with the vice. Contributing to the debate, Kambuzuma MP Mr Willias Madzimure (MDC) said staff in the Attorney-General’s Office and the police should be well remunerated to guard against the temptation of being involved in corrupt activities. He said the AG’s Office should be semi-autonomous to enable it to carry out its mandate effectively. Mr Madzimure said the continued increase in the prices of basic commodities could only be attributed to corruption with the manufacturers and retailers bent on profiteering. “We have shortage of fuel but the black market is being fully supplied. Where are the dealers getting money to buy the fuel?” he said. Bulawayo South MP Mr David Coltart (MDC) welcomed the two conventions but said there was need for Government to double its efforts in the fight against corruption. “It is very difficult in Zimbabwe to pin point corruption but it is easy to see its effects and one of the effects of corruption is the decline of the economy,” he said. The opposition legislator said the Government was not sincere in its efforts to curb the vice and this was evidenced by a long history of corruption cases that had not been finalised such as the War Victims Compensation Fund scandal and the VIP housing scandal. Mr Coltart said there should also be legislation making it compulsory for senior civil servants to declare their property as some of them were amassing wealth through corrupt activities. In response, Cde Mangwana said Government was serious in its quest to curb corruption and no one would be spared in the anti-corruption drive. “Among us, yes, we have corrupt people and they will be dealt with in terms of the law,” he said. The minister said a number of Bills seeking to strengthen the fight against corruption would be introduced in the House. Government, Cde Mangwana said, intended to introduce the teaching of ethics in primary and secondary schools next year with a view to cultivate a culture of honesty and integrity among the young generation.

Zimbabwe Independent
Augustine Mukaro

CLASHES erupted this week over the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)’s assets and areas of influence as the split in the party deepens.

The two factions locked horns over a motor vehicle on Wednesday that was in the Arthur Mutambara camp’s possession. It was seized in the centre of Harare in broad daylight by “youth militia” belonging to the Morgan Tsvangirai camp.

The Zimbabwe Independent last night established that the incident was reported to the police at Harare Central, IR number 032822.The vehicle in dispute is a white Nissan Hardbody registration AAB 79931.

This came after skirmishes among faction supporters during a poorly-attended rally addressed by Mutambara at St Mary’s in Chitungwiza on Sunday. The events make the projected bridge-building talks between the two sides brokered by Bulawayo MP David Coltart seem increasingly remote, observers say.

The MDC factions are on a collision course over the party’s assets that are a source of growing conflict. The assets at stake include the party’s Harvest House headquarters in central Harare, offices in Bulawayo, Hwange and an office stand in Kwekwe as well as almost 30 party vehicles.

Apart from buildings, there is also office furniture, equipment and computers.

“After the seizure of the vehicle from the Mutambara faction by activists from Morgan Tsvangirai’s group, this means the Tsvangirai camp now has 19 vehicles in its possession, while Mutambara’s group has eight,” a source said. “The Mutambara group has so far lost seven vehicles since the infighting began in October last year. There are also other things at the centre of the fight like equipment, faxes, photocopiers and no less than 30 computers.”

The source said Tsvangirai’s Strathaven home could also become part of the tussle because it was bought using party funds although it was registered in his name.

“It was bought using party funds from donors but it was registered under his name,” the source said. “Although at law it’s legally his, it can also be contested politically because he is now a factional leader, which is different from the original MDC.”

A neutral official in the MDC said the prime target for the two factions was Harvest House, currently under the control of the Tsvangirai faction.

“Tsvangirai wants to hang on to it because it is his citadel of power and Mutambara’s faction will find it difficult to set up a strong base in Harare if it can’t capture Harvest House,” the official said. However, sources said there was unlikely to be a fight over money – except the already spent $8 billion from state coffers – because the MDC didn’t have any. In fact it is broke. Donor funds have dried up since the squabbling started.

The battle for property between the factions intensified this week after the seizure of the vehicle from the Mutambara camp by youths from Tsvangirai’s camp along Nelson Mandela Avenue in Harare.

Mutambara faction spokesman Morgan Changamire said 10 members of Tsvangirai’s “youth militia” pounced on two of their officials in central Harare and seized a party vehicle.

He said the group, led by Barnabas Ndira, waylaid the officials, threatened the driver and forcibly took the vehicle keys before driving off. The allegation was immediately denied by Tsvangirai faction spokesman Nelson Chamisa.

“This sort of political clowning is not acceptable,” said Chamisa. “Changamire is excited by his new position and has been rubbishing president Tsvangirai and the party.”

Tsvangirai’s secretary-general Tendai Biti said the Mutambara camp was creating stories to remain in the news. “They want to remain in the news,” said Biti. “Mutambara’s ship has landed and they have to find ways of remaining in the news.”
Mutambara faction secretary-general Welshman Ncube said he had spoken to Biti three times over the incident and Biti had promised to investigate the issue.

Changamire accused Chamisa of seeking to disrupt Mutambara’s Chitungwiza rally.
“This act of criminality is not isolated from Sunday’s attempt to disrupt the MDC rally in Chitungwiza and the subsequent threat by Chamisa that he would ensure that our party would not hold any rallies in any part of the country,” Changamire said.

Zimbabwe Independent
Loughty Dube

MDC secretary for legal affairs, David Coltart, is in a dilemma over which side to back between Arthur Mutambara and the Morgan Tsvangirai factions, it has been established.

Mutambara’s faction has left the post of legal affairs secretary open as they wait for Coltart’s decision.

Coltart, who has said his political future will be decided after the final resolution of the MDC crisis, has repeatedly spurned overtures to join either camp.

During Mutambara’s congress in Bulawayo, Coltart was elected in absentia to the pro-senate executive as secretary for legal affairs, but he turned down the offer saying it was a mistake since he had indicated that he did not want to be elected to any position.

It emerged this week that the Mutambara faction has not filled the position.

Paul Themba Nyathi, the spokesperson for the camp, confirmed to the Zimbabwe Independent that the position of secretary for legal affairs had not yet been filled.

“We are still looking for a suitable candidate,” he said. “We have a lot of suitable candidates interested in the position but we want to choose the most eligible,” Nyathi said.

Sources this week however said the Mutambara faction was struggling to find a candidate.

“Ever since the congress, it has been difficult to find a suitable candidate to fill the legal affairs portfolio and the faction still believes that Coltart will change his mind and accept the position,” one source said.

Coltart is the only MP in the MDC who did not align himself with either of the factions and says his major commitment is to see the MDC problem solved first.

The sources said Coltart was a vital link in opposition politics and each faction wanted to woo him to its camp to utilise his wide connections in the international community.

However, Coltart has remained adamant that he is not interested in joining either of the two factions yet.

“My decision on which faction I join, if they amicably separate, will be governed on the basis of which of the two sides is committed to a non-violent solution of the country’s problems,” Coltart said.

The move to spurn the two factions has left Coltart without a national executive post in either camp.

“I have always wanted to preserve my neutrality so that I can be objective in my dealings with both camps,” Coltart said during an interview where he laid out his wishes for a united opposition MDC.

The Tsvangirai camp last week dismissed the Coltart settlement plan saying there was only one MDC, hence no need for talks.

However, insiders suggest this could represent political posturing and that talks between the two sides are still possible.

SW Radio Africa

A leading opposition legislator has said government can introduce as many laws as it wants but that will not stop the people’s quest for freedom and liberty.

Responding to government’s introduction of a new law to curb acts of international terrorism in the country David Coltart, MDC MP for Bulawayo South, said he had no doubt the new legislation will be used against people opposed to the tyranny of the regime and those opposed to its corruption and mismanagement.

Facing mounting pressure from opposition parties and civic groups government has responded by crafting a new law that could see opponents convicted of plotting to overthrow it, getting life sentences.

The Suppression of Foreign and International Terrorism Bill (2006), published in the state controlled Herald Monday will provide for the curtailment of foreign and international terrorism, including mercenary activity.

Under the proposed legislation, it would be an offence to undergo training for foreign or international terrorism, to recruit persons to undergo such training, or to possess weaponry that would be used for the purposes of foreign or international terrorist activity.

Given that the ruling regime enjoys a comfortable majority in Parliament the proposed law is likely to sail through without a hitch.

Coltart said he is suspicious of it and wondered whether the legislation will be used for other purposes other than tracking down Al-Qaeda operatives and genuine terrorists.

‘For instance in November 2001, the government described me as a terrorist because it alleged I was involved in the disappearance of Cain Nkala,’ he said.

Coltart, a lawyer by profession, said the definition of terrorism by the Zimbabwe government was very different to what the rest of the civilised and democratic world call terrorists.

‘The regime’s conduct over the last two years shows it has really not been interested in dealing with domestic terrorism, so one has to question whether they are genuinely interested in dealing with foreign terrorism.’

By: Tichaona Sibanda

The Zimbabwe Independent

THE future of a united opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is set to be decided in the coming few weeks as negotiators tasked to chart the way forward are due to make contact with the leadership of both factions anytime from this week, sources close to the negotiations have revealed.

The negotiations, which were initially meant to come up with an amicable separation of the MDC, are now likely to focus on reconciliation after both sides indicated that there was no way the opposition could tackle Zanu PF from a divided position.

Sources close to the Arthur Mutambara faction said Bulawayo South member of parliament, David Coltart, was leading an initiative to reconcile the two camps.

Coltart this week confirmed that he was pushing for either reconciliation or an amicable break-up of the party without involving the courts.

“I have made it known to (Morgan) Tsvangirai and (Gibson) Sibanda that I am committed to a process of mediation and I have written to both camps with proposals on how we could go about it. Democracy in Zimbabwe will never be brought about by a divided opposition,” Coltart said.

The MDC split in October last year over whether or not to participate in the senate election.

Coltart could not be drawn into revealing what other people were working on the initiative, only saying he could not do it by himself.

“This has to be done with others as the process will need negotiations and compromises,” he said.

Coltart said he had indicated to the two camps that there are respected people who should be engaged to resolve the feud amicably.

Spokesperson for Mutambara’s group Paul Themba Nyathi, when contacted this week said he was aware of plans towards reconciling the two factions but said it was premature to comment.

“There are such plans but it is too early to talk of reconciliation at the moment. It is clear that we cannot afford current divisions,” Nyathi said.

Nelson Chamisa, spokesperson for Tsvangirai’s camp, however dismissed the reconciliation overtures saying there was only one MDC, the anti-senate one.

“We are aware of Coltart’s plans but we do not know what he is talking about when he talks of reconciliation and amicable divorce of the two parties,” said Chamisa. “The MDC is united. We only have party officials who left to form another party and we will not discuss that.”

Sources within the opposition said seasoned politician Washington Sansole and human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa were being touted as likely mediators in the crisis.

Coltart confirmed that Mtetwa and Sansole were credible people to lead the negotiations.

“There are people like Mtetwa and Sansole that could be engaged and if they are, they will be the right people to look at the current differences in the opposition,” Coltart said.

Correspondence in the possession of the Zimbabwe Independent, written to Tsvangirai and Sibanda by Coltart, laid out a plan for solving the crisis in the fractured MDC.

The letters explain that pro-senate secretary-general Welshman Ncube and the anti-senate faction’s Tendai Biti held informal discussions on likely ways of separating amicably but no solution was reached at the meeting.

Coltart in the letters said if the current problems in the MDC were solved through the courts, the government would decide to the detriment of opposition politics, who it wanted to work with.

“If the vying claims to legitimacy are not settled by mediation, they will have to be settled by the courts,” said Coltart in one of the letters.

“If the Zimbabwean courts are entrusted with the role of settling these issues, that in itself will play directly into the hands of the Mugabe regime.

“If both factions cannot agree to settle these disputes they will in essence give the regime the power to decide through the courts how long they want this conflict to go on for and who ultimately they want to deal with,” he said.

“Furthermore, court proceedings will be extremely expensive both financially and politically. I fully expect that during the next two years the Zimbabwean public will be subjected to the bizarre spectacle of the two factions fighting each other in court,” he said.

Coltart said issues that need to be addressed, in the event that there is no reconciliation, include deciding on who continues to use the party name, logo, slogans, physical assets, monetary assets and the fate of the party’s members of parliament.

“During the last six years the MDC has acquired substantial assets including Harvest House, other immovable properties elsewhere in the country, motor vehicles, computers and furniture. These properties are worth billions of dollars,” Coltart said.

“The temptation of course will be to adopt a winner-take-all mentality but this will inevitably result in protracted litigation. The attempted eviction of either party from the premises they currently occupy will be met with spoliation proceedings,” he said.

“Because those proceedings will only be able to be decided by a determination as to which faction is the legitimate MDC, which in turn will involve trial proceedings (because the facts will inevitably be in dispute), they will be long, drawn out, fractious and expensive affairs. I doubt very much whether a final determination will be reached within two years,” he said.

On the issue of MPs, Coltart said according to Section 41 (1)e of the Zimbabwe Constitution, an MP can only be forced to step down when he or she ceases to be a member of the political party on whose ticket he was elected.

Coltart said the concerned party would then have to write to the Speaker for the MP to cease representing it in parliament. Coltart said it would be folly for either of the factions to claim to have expelled MPs not in their camp.

by: Loughty Dube

Financial Gazette

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai has poured cold water on prospects of a speedy reunification with a splinter faction of the party despite a congress resolution that the fractious party works “for the unity of all genuine cadres to the struggle.”

The former trade unionist, who was reinvigorated by the support of over 15 800 delegates who attended his camp’s congress and reaffirmed his leadership at the weekend, appears eager to lead the MDC in a war of attrition against his former colleagues now led by polished academic Arthur Mutambara. But analysts have warned that only a united opposition can dislodge the ruling party from government. ZANU PF, which has remained intact despite being driven by factionalism, has further consolidated its grip on power since the MDC’s October 12 split. Former University of Zimbabwe student leader Mutambara has made overtures for the reunification of the party, which split right down the middle following the emergence of sharp differences over participation in the November 2005 senate elections. Hopes for a détente were raised last Sunday when resolutions read out by newly elected party secretary general Tendai Biti did not include the expulsion of Gibson Sibanda, Welshman Ncube, Gift Chimanikire, Gertrude Stevenson, Paul Themba Nyathi and a host of MDC Members of Parliament who have thrown their weight behind the splinter faction. It had been speculated that the omission of the expulsion resolutions had left the door open for re-engagement between the two factions. The party had, prior to the reading of the resolutions, passed a resolution to expel Sibanda, Ncube, Stevenson and Chimanikire, while giving a 14-day ultimatum to all ‘rebel’ MPs to submit themselves to the party’s disciplinary process. Failure to do so would lead to expulsion, the congress resolved. “What I know is congress resolved that they were dismissed from the MDC. We wish them well wherever they are. In fact I prefer not to talk about them,” declared Tsvangirai as he categorically ruled out unity between the two factions. The opposition leader, President Robert Mugabe’s most serious challenger since independence in 1980, has, however, sent conflicting signals over the contentious subject. In his opening remarks on Saturday, a conciliatory Tsvangirai magnanimously acknowledged the pioneering work of his estranged colleagues. “Allow me, congress, to note the work done by my colleagues who have chosen not to be with us today, but who pioneered and contributed to the growth of the MDC and this democracy project together with us for years. We say to you all: Thank you for your contribution to this struggle. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for risking life and limb to try and rebuild Zimbabwe. We have not forgotten that contribution. You taught us valuable lessons.” If Tsvangirai sounded valedictory in his message to his former comrades, it is perhaps because he believes the party’s split was, as he said in the same speech, a “temporary diversion.” He seems to view his rivals in the other MDC camp as inconsequential comrades who have fallen by the wayside and can be packed off nonchalantly. “I am happy to note that we have dealt with this temporary diversion by surrendering the party back to you today. You are the rightful owners of the MDC. The choice is up to you. “You have to take corrective measures and sort out the leadership squabbles at the top,” Tsvangirai thundered to applause. However, when he stood up to make his acceptance speech and formally introduce the new leadership after Sunday’s elections, Tsvangirai said the new leadership was tasked with establishing unity within the party, saying: “These men and women have the responsibility to reunite the MDC.” Political commentator John Makumbe said Tsvangirai’s attitude towards his rivals had clearly hardened after the weekend congress. “The attitude seems to have hardened. Tsvangirai’s camp has demonstrated that they may not have money, but they have the support of the membership. “It could be a bit difficult to reconcile the two, unless Mutambara gets off his high horse and admits that Morgan is the president of the MDC. Mutambara will have to work with Morgan as a regular member of the party,” Makumbe said. Takura Zhangazha of the Media Institute of Southern Africa said the fact that the weekend congress had strengthened Tsvangirai’s hand meant prospects for reunification with the Mutambara faction were dimmer. “Tsvangirai’s faction feels triumphant. Any potential for reunification might arise if the other faction succumbs to the dictates of the Tsvangirai faction, but they are still defiant and have resolved to go it alone. “The differences are too sharp and they are personal, not based on principle,” Zhangazha said. “They are going to fight each other, but that’s more like lofty politics and we will see legal challenges which, however, will play into ZANU PF’s hands.” Dave Coltart, the legal brains behind the MDC over the past six years, has proposed an amicable divorce to avoid a protracted court process. “What deeply concerns me at present is the attitude, which appears to be adopted by both sides that only their faction is the legitimate MDC. I have also been concerned by the intolerance displayed by both sides towards each other; it appears that both sides refuse to recognise that the other side has the right to exist. “If the vying claims to legitimacy are not settled by mediation they will have to be settled in the courts. If the Zimbabwean courts are entrusted with the role of settling these issues that in itself will play directly into the hands of the Mugabe regime,” Coltart wrote in letters to Tsvangirai and Sibanda last month. He has also warned against the expulsion of the MDC’s MPs by either faction, saying this would precipitate by-elections each camp could scarcely afford.