Police have granted a verbal go ahead to the MDC-T to hold its elective congress this coming Saturday subject to the Ministry of Health and Child Care approval.
The party says it expecting about 3 000 delegates to attend the event.
Addressing journalists in Bulawayo Monday, party secretary general Douglas Mwonzora said 20 Covid-19 compliance enforcement officers have been trained to monitor the delegates.
“We are expecting 3 000 delegates on December 19, 2020 at the Rainbow Towers hotel. This is going to be a physical congress and delegates are going to be ferried across the country by hired buses.
“This congress’s single issue is to vote for the president and no conventional address would take place after voting. Delegates will be addressed Friday night virtually,” said Mwonzora.
The party secretary general said MDC-T has set up an Independent Electoral Commission headed by Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) to conduct the internal polls.
Mwonzora said the commission is also headed by members from civil society, trade union movements and churches.
He said the party has made tight security arrangements to deal with suspected unnamed elements he claimed were planning to disrupt the congress.
“The congress is for MDC-T members, not those who have joined other political parties such as people who were expelled and recalled from the party.
“Hopefully after voting for a president, we will have a candidate for the 2023 election, so we do not want opponents at the congress,” said Mwonzora.