Tsvangirai, dubbed a constant thorn

HARARE – Morgan Tsvangirai, who has survived a treason trial and a severe beating by security forces, is making a second bid to topple Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe in a poll he again suspects will be rigged.

The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, a thorn in the side of Mugabe since the 1990s, is insistent he won the last presidential election in 2002 when he officially polled 1,2 million votes against Mugabe’s 1,6 million. However his confidence is tempered by the expectation that Mugabe will simply not allow anyone but himself be declared the winner of the March 29 poll.Disillusioned by the outcome in 2002, Tsvangirai appeared reluctant to join the contest this year before eventually deciding to throw his hat into the ring in February.But Tsvangirai’s prospects have been damaged by a split in his party, first triggered by a row over whether to contest senatorial elections in 2005, which has lost him the loyalty of nearly half the MDC’s lawmakers.He also has to contend this time with a challenge from Mugabe’s former finance minister Simba Makoni.Tsvangirai first took on Mugabe when, as secretary general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, he led a series of crippling strikes against high taxes in 1997 and 1998.Tsvangirai’s career almost came to a halt in 2001 when he went on trial for allegedly plotting to kill Mugabe in a case based on testimony by a former Israeli secret agent.He was eventually cleared.Born in 1952 in Gutu, south of the capital, he is the eldest of nine children and the son of a bricklayer.Nampa-AFPHowever his confidence is tempered by the expectation that Mugabe will simply not allow anyone but himself be declared the winner of the March 29 poll.Disillusioned by the outcome in 2002, Tsvangirai appeared reluctant to join the contest this year before eventually deciding to throw his hat into the ring in February.But Tsvangirai’s prospects have been damaged by a split in his party, first triggered by a row over whether to contest senatorial elections in 2005, which has lost him the loyalty of nearly half the MDC’s lawmakers.He also has to contend this time with a challenge from Mugabe’s former finance minister Simba Makoni.Tsvangirai first took on Mugabe when, as secretary general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, he led a series of crippling strikes against high taxes in 1997 and 1998.Tsvangirai’s career almost came to a halt in 2001 when he went on trial for allegedly plotting to kill Mugabe in a case based on testimony by a former Israeli secret agent.He was eventually cleared.Born in 1952 in Gutu, south of the capital, he is the eldest of nine children and the son of a bricklayer.Nampa-AFP