Harare — The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Thursday picked Nelson Chamisa, one of its three vice-presidents, to be the party’s acting president for the next 12 months, a day after the death of its founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, at a Johannesburg medical facility. The move is widely seen as an attempt to paper over cracks that have widened in recent weeks for the control of the country’s largest opposition party. A vicious power struggle had been underway over the past few weeks in the MDC, even as Tsvangirai drew his last breath, from party officials keen to take over from him. Chamisa’s recent claim to have been appointed to lead the MDC until Tsvangirai’s "return" is disputed by Elias Mudzuri, a former Harare mayor and the other appointed vice-president. Mudzuri said Tsvangirai had never stripped him of the responsibility of being the acting leader of the MDC.
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