The Movement for Democratic Change, the battered opposition party in Zimbabwe, has officially split into two groups amid a dispute on who the leader should be. A certain Gibson Sibanda, once vice president of the party, has been declared the leader despite calls to the contrary from Morgan Tsvangirai, the (ex?)leader of the party. It’s an interesting development, and one long seen coming.

Leaders of Zimbabwe????????s splintered Movement for Democratic Change found a new bone of contention this week as it emerged that the Bulawayo-based faction led by secretary general Welshman Ncube sought to elevate vice president Gibson Sibanda to acting president after announcing the expulsion of incumbent Morgan Tsvangirai.

Sibanda said his appointment by the so-called pro-senate faction, which participated in November upper house elections in defiance of Tsvangirai????????s boycott call, was in line with the party constitution, as was, he held, the faction????????s expulsion of Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai loyalists dismissed the expulsion and Sibanda????????s appointment.

Sibanda said he had cut off ties to Tsvangirai going back to when they were president and vice president, respectively, of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, which gave rise to the Movement for Democratic Change, founded in 1999.

Sibanda told reporter Ndimyake Mwakalyele of VOA????????s Studio 7 for Zimbabwe he will remain acting president until the next party congress chooses an executive.

Interim spokesman Nelson Chamisa of the opposing faction said Tsvangirai remains party president despite the resolutions by the pro-senate faction.

Most of the problems with the MDC can be attributed to the fact that Zimbabwe is a friggin’ police state and the economy is nearly 100% black market. Repression has made it very hard for it to operate. However, Tsvangirai has been a monumentally weak leader whose own inadequacies have probably had more of an effect on the disintegration of the party than Mugabe’s ruthless repression.

Just look at the history of his own decisions. During the election in May, the MDC called for its supporters to turn out in full in order to take away Mugabe’s majority and to make sure that the government wasn’t able to tamper with the ballots in public. When the results were announced and it was incredibly apparent that fraud had been committed, he failed to call for street protests similar to those in Ukraine. While Zimbabwe is infinitely more dangerous than Ukraine, but the groups and individuals behind the party were ready and willing to do so. They lost confidence in the leadership completely. It was perhaps the biggest mistake the opposition has made. Since then, Tsvangirai called for a boycott of the senate election in late 2005, and his call wasn’t heeded. I’d say that’s something of a no confidence vote directed at him.

The MDC has a vast grassroots network. Many think that it may even actually enjoy the support of the majority of the country. The urban centers, trade unions, and church groups all support the MDC and were willing to follow Tsvangirai in his stand against the government. But he never gave the order. I think this is a sign this crack down the middle is a sign that the party wants and needs stronger leadership. It’s ultimately a good thing in the end. Though the party is split right now, it ultimately should resurface with stronger will to resist the regime. Still, the chances of the MDC being able to oust Mugabe through street protests alone are on the downside.

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Jim Hoft notes that inflation is at an average of 585% and that Mugabe has admitted that the land grabs from white farmers has done more harm than good.

This is Zimbabwe further notes the deterioration of the economy.

Democracy Rising thinks that the disunity is bad for the MDC.