The last time ZANU-PF faced a serious breakaway party was Simba Makoni's presidential bid in 2008...
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The parties include that led by Morgan Tsvangirai former Prime Minister in the National Unity government the Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T); Welshman Ncube's MDC faction; former Vice-President Joice Mujuru's Zimbabwe People First; Tendai Biti's People's Democratic Party; Simba Makoni's Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn; and Elton Mangoma's Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe (AC Vol 57 No 9 Morgan goes it alone)...
' Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn was Simbarashe Makoni's political party...
In Manicaland the home province of Tsvangirai and his coalition partner Simba Makoni the MDC won just four seats out of the 26...
It is also the home province of former Finance Minister Simba Makoni who made a formal alliance with Tsvangirai and the MDC a month ago...
Manicaland is a key battleground where Tsvangirai's alliance with Simba Makoni may help: both men hail from the province but have very different backgrounds...
The vaunted grand anti-Mugabe coalition failed to take off; only Simba Makoni who polled 8% in 2008 withdrew to support Tsvangirai...
In its absence there has been wild media speculation and an opening has been created for Simba Makoni and his Mavambo-Kusile-Dawn (MKD) movement to re-enter the debate after a long silence (AC Vol 52 No 19 US sources run for cover)...
Not so the other minor players the most visible of which are Dumiso Dabengwa's resurrected Zimbabwe African People's Union and Simba Makoni's Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn...
In 2008 Solomon Mujuru and CIO Director Happyton Bonyongwe nearly backed the presidential bid of Simba Makoni and his Mavambo-Kusile-Dawn party...